Growing Up Together, Brendan and May
by CuddlyCuddles
Summary: A lighthearted series of events about neighbors Brendan and May as they grow in Littleroot Town. Somewhat based on Pokemon anime before May travels with Ash.
1. New Region, New Neighbors

Hello! This is my first fan fiction based on the Pokemon anime. I hope you guys like it!

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Chapter 1: New Region, New Friends

"Dad! How much longer?" a brown haired five year old boy asked for perhaps the millionth time within that hour. His dad let out a long sigh clearly getting annoyed by the boy's behavior.

"Brendan would you stop asking already. I'm sure we will be there in five minutes, "the father answered towards his son.

The boy raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms,"dad you said that five minutes ago".

His mother meanwhile had entered the room from another room after hearing the discussion between the two males. "Brendan sweetie please, I'm sure we will be there in no time just be patient," sitting down on the long couch in the room. The boy looked at her mother with a quizzical look before slumping back on his chair clearly sulking that the ship ride to their new home was taking much longer to arrive at their destination than planned.

The father, otherwise known as Professor Birch, slumped his shoulders relieved that his son was no longer asking him how much longer it would take to arrive. He however still didn't believe that he was named Hoenn's new regional professor. He had, after all always applied to be Johto's Regional Professor due to his hometown being Olivine City. He was, however slightly disappointed when his good friend Professor Elm was named the new Johto Professor. Birch had indeed congratulated Elm on his success, but he couldn't help but feel a bit hurt that he didn't get the position.

When the position for Hoenn's regional professor opened up, Birch was quick to submit all necessary materials to gain the position. It was no surprise when the Hoenn League had approved him for the position. The only downside that he could think of the whole endeavor was the fact that he had to move his family from their hometown of Olivine City to Littleroot Town. His wife, Lisa Birch, was more than ecstatic about the prospect of moving to a new home. His son, Brendan Birch, was also ecstatic about moving to a new region.

For the past couple of weeks, Birch had been learning as well as teaching his son about the Hoenn region. He had discussed how the climate in Hoenn was different than the one in Johto. He explained how this difference in climate influenced the appearance of many pokemon that were unique to only Hoenn and weren't found anywhere else. He had also explained to his son what his duties as a new professor would be. These included guiding new trainers, collecting data on the local pokemon, gathering data for the Pokedex while also sharing data with other researches around the world such as Professor Oak and Professor Rowan.

All of his thoughts came to an abrupt halt when the ship's loudspeaker spoke. "Passengers, we will like to inform you that the ship will be arriving in Rustboro City in approximately five minutes".

Brendan had jumped from his seat exclaiming, "Mom! Dad! We are almost there". Lisa merely laughed at her son's endless pool of energy.

"Oh Brendan don't forget that we will also be going to Petalburg City. We have good friends there from Johto and they have a daughter around your age," Lisa said also standing up to follow her child as he was running around in circles inside the room.

"Don't worry mom, I'm sure the two of us will be great friends," Brendan said he was being chased around in circles by his mother. Birch laughed also standing up and followed to join in the circle chasing behind his wife.

* * *

"May Maple it is ten in the morning! Get up already!" a woman known as Caroline Maple exclaimed up the stairs. When the only response she got from her daughter was a snore she continued."Oh well, guess you don't want breakfast then".

At that comment she heard a thump followed by loud footsteps heading towards the girl's bedroom door. The door quickly swung open revealing a five year old girl with messy brown bed hair while wearing pink clad pajama pants and a Jigglypuff t-shirt. She quickly ran down the stairs almost falling down if it wasn't for her mother catching her.

"Mom where's breakfast?" she asked, clearly not phased by the fact that she almost fell down the stairs just seconds ago.

"Why is it always the same thing with you May? You never wake up until I mention breakfast." Her mother teased the young girl.

"But mom," the girl pouted. "It's Saturday morning why can't I just sleep in?"

"Normally I would let you sleep in, but today we are meeting with some good friends of your dad. I heard that they have a son about your age so maybe you can be friends with him," patting the young girl on the head.

The young brunette crossed her arms and sassily added, "I don't want to be friends with no stinking boy".

Her mother slightly chuckled motioning for the girl to follow her in into the dining room for breakfast. She had made sure to make extras today since she knew her daughter had a large appetite. She also had to make sure that she made a large lunch for not only her family but for the family that would be visiting later today. She had heard from Lisa Birch that their son had the appetite of a Snorlax coming out of hibernation. The sounds of loud munching stopped her train of thought before playfully scolding her daughter. "May how many times do I have to tell you to chew with your mouth closed! Geez you won't get any boys to fall for you if they see eating like that".

"Mom!" she fired back through a mouthful of food and a blushing face. Her mother started laughing loudly at her daughter's reaction, pleased that her joke got the result she wanted.

"I see you two are up bright and early today." a tall man with black hair said entering the dining room. " I was at least expecting May to sleep in today," he teased.

"Daddy!" May exclaimed as she ran towards her father, quickly enveloped into a tight hug.

"It's been a while hasn't it baby girl" he teased again looking at his daughter in her arms.

"Daddy I told you not to call me that anymore. I'm not a baby anymore!" she pouted.

"Sorry it's just that that name fits you well" he laughed slightly at his remark.

"Norman I thought you were meeting us at Petalburg today instead of coming down here. Isn't the gym open today?" Caroline asked as she was laying plate on the table for her husband.

"I decided to take the day off today and spend the time with my friends and family. There was also a change of plans. The Birches should be arriving in Littleroot soon, the moving trucks are already outside their home placing their things inside". Both women nodded although May was still stuffing her face with her breakfast.

"May sweetie, make sure you put on some nice clothes, you want to make a good impression, especially with that boy" her mother teased yet again causing May to go slightly red again. The redness however disappeared as her father grabbed her and threw her in the air for a short moment before catching her.

"Again, again!" the young brunette exclaimed having enjoyed the experience. Norman let out a soft laugh before throwing her in the air again and catching her.

* * *

A Jeep was speeding through the dirt road at a speed that should not be possible, but somehow it was doing it. "Edward I swear one of these days you are gonna get us killed," Lisa said hanging on to the handles by her door so she didn't jump out of her seat when the jeep bounced up. Brendan meanwhile was in the back bouncing up and down as the jeep was.

Birch decided to mess with his wife more. He stepped on the gas further causing the jeep to increase its speed. She let out a loud shout, afraid that perhaps they would hit a tree, or some sort of building, or maybe even someone.

"We will get to Petalburg and Littleroot faster if we go at this speed. Besides Brendan back there looks like he's having a blast. Isn't that right Brendan?"

"Yeah Dad it's like we are on a trampoline," bouncing up and down on the backseat.

"Brendan when you grow up I'll make sure that your father doesn't teach you how to drive. I don't want you driving like this hooligan," Lisa said sounding exasperated.

"Ok mom," the boy answered back before the jeep bounced up again earning a loud "Whee" from the young boy while the mother looked like she was about to throw up all over the windshield.

"Relax honey we will be there in no time" Birch said after his laughing fit had settled down.

"For both of our sakes I hope you're right. Seriously, who taught you how to drive?"

After the road settled down, Birch began driving slightly slower, although to others it would seem like he was driving as if he needed to use the restroom and was rushing home. "Brendan you did change into your nice clothes right?" Lisa asked looking at the backseat at her amused son.

"Yeah mom, I made sure to change them at the hotel," he answered looking down at the clothes he had on. He currently had on khaki shorts, along with a white polo and black tennis shoes.

"Aww you're so cute when you wear those. I bet May will fall for you when you two meet".

Brendan's face became red before turning away so he was facing away from his mother. "Mom can you please not say stuff like that".

Lisa let out a loud laugh before it was cut off by a loud shout as the car jumped again. This time it was Brendan's turn to laugh out loud. "That's what you get mom for teasing me," he managed to get out through bouts of laughter.

Lisa merely sighed in resignation knowing that she had lost that battle. But she hadn't lost the war.

* * *

"There you go May. Don't you just look adorable in that dress?" Caroline said as she finished helping May put on her simple blue dress that matched the color of her eyes.

"I guess. I still don't get why I have to look good for those people, especially that boy," she answered back as she was fidgeting with her hair.

Her mother simply let out a soft laugh before replying with "You'll know when you're older". The smirk present on her mother's face was something that scared the young girl.

"They should be arriving soon so let's make sure we greet them properly," Norman said as he entered the room. Caroline was still laughing slightly but managed to get in a nod. May meanwhile wasn't feeling up to meeting anyone today.

They heard the doorbell ring from downstairs. Caroline had calmed her laughing fit before plastering on her usual cheery smile. Norman too was slightly fidgeting with the hem of his red jacket. He let out a soft sigh moving down the stairs of their house along with Caroline and May. "Make sure you're nice May," Caroline teased.

On the other side of the door, the Birches were also in a similar position. Birch was standing to the left while Lisa stood to the right, Brendan was placed in front of them. "Make sure you're nice Brendan," Lisa teased which only earned her a slight thumbs up from her son.

The door opened revealing the form of a mother, father and daughter before them.

Birch was the first to react exclaiming "Norman it's been so long since we've last seen each other," moving in to hug his friend. Lisa and Caroline were also in a similar position as the two went in to introduce themselves. Brendan and May, however were staring at each other. Each trapped in the eyes of the other. Brendan was staring into May's gray blue eyes while May was staring into Brendan's gray eyes.

 _Aww man this girl is pretty cute,_ Brendan thought to himself a blush slowly growing on his face.

 _This… this boy... He's cute_ May thought to herself a similar blush growing on her face.

Lisa and Caroline were the first to notice their kid's reactions as smirks grew on their faces. Lisa leaned in close to Caroline's ear whispering, "a thousand Pokedollars they will be dating before they turn eighteen".

"Make it five thousand," Caroline answered back her own smirk growing wider. The two mothers laughed out loud for a second before they introduced themselves to the other's husband.

"So… umm… I'm Brendan Birch...nice to meet you," his left hand scratching the back of his head while holding out his right arm for May to shake.

"May… Maple… nice to meet you too" her left hand fidgeting with her brown hair while holding out her right hand to shake with Brendan's. She took his hand and they lightly shook. This earned a toothy grin from Brendan and May felt her heart flutter. She felt the blush growing on her face and she looked away from him in an effort to hide her blush.

After introductions were out of the way, Caroline motioned for the Birches to follow inside to eat lunch. The loud grumble from both May and Brendan caused the two to laugh loudly. Maybe they would get along better than they had originally thought.

Caroline was right in preparing extras as the two children had devoured the food she placed on the table at a faster rate than she was able to replace it with. The fathers laughed along with the mothers.

Birch leaned in to Norman whispering to his ear, "Looks like they are made for each other".

Norman nodded before a smirk came on his face, "ten thousand pokedollars they will be dating before they turn sixteen".

Birch also had a smirk on his face, "you're on Norman".

"So Brendan what do you want to be when you grow up?" Norman asked as Brendan was still stuffing his face.

"Oh I want to to be the regions champion," he spoke through a mouth full of food.

"Brendan! How many times have a told you not to speak with food in your mouth?" Lisa playfully scolded.

"Sorry mom," he young boy laughed scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. May was surprised that there was someone that could match her in her eating habits and that they too also got the same scolding that she was so used to getting.

"It's great to have big dreams Brendan, if that's the case then I'll be waiting for your challenge when you become a trainer." Norman spoke with a large smile on his face.

"How about you May?" Birch asked motioning for May.

"Oh I don't know. I think I just want to go shopping," she flatly said.

"Well, just know that if you ever decide to become a trainer I'd be more than willing to give you your first pokemon".

"Dad when do I get my first pokemon?" the young boy asked jumping on his father's lap looking into his eyes.

"Soon Brendan, soon. Just wait for us to get settled in first," he spoke before he grabbed his son and began tickling him earning loud laughs along with "Dad stop, stop" from the boy.

The two families spent time together for the next couple of hours mentioning how the climate in Hoenn was different from Johto and how it would take some adjustment to get used to. They had occasionally watched the programs on the television.

Brendan had invited May to play outside, but she had refused saying that she didn't want to get her pretty blue dress dirty. Brendan pouted for a couple minutes upset that he couldn't play outside with his new friend. May later invited Brendan to play tea party with her, but this time it was her turn to pout as Brendan had refused to play with her. He said it was his way of getting her back for earlier. Other than that the two children seemed to along just fine.

"I bet I can eat more than you," Brendan said cockily standing up to look May in the eye. May herself wasn't about to let this challenge slip by.

"Boy you wish you could eat more, there's no one else that can eat more than me," she fired back.

"Caroline looks like we are gonna have to cook for an eating contest," Lisa joked to the mother.

A smirk grew on Caroline's face before she said "I bet I can cook faster than you Lisa".

"Is that a challenge Caroline?" she fired back which caused the two women to crack up loudly.

After several minutes of laughter, Birch stood up motioning for his family that it was time to go. "Well it's been great seeing you again Norman as well as Caroline and May, but I'm afraid that it's time for us to go".

"You're right Edward, we still need to unpack everything, the movers should be done delivering everything by now," Lisa said also standing up and walking towards Brendan who was still playing with May.

"But mom, can't we stay longer, I really like playing with May," the young boy pouted, not wanting to leave his new friend.

"Yeah mommy can't they stay longer?" May too asked her mother not wanting to be separated so soon.

"Brendan sweetie, you can come back tomorrow, we are right next door so you can visit anytime".

"If you say so mom," he said standing up heading to stand by his mom and dad that were ready to leave by the door. He waved at the Maple family. "I'll see you tomorrow May, make sure you stop by my place," he called out as the family was leaving the Maple residence headed towards their own house that isn't too far away.

"I will," she called back, her own hand raised above her head waving back at the family.

* * *

"So Brendan looks like you and May are getting along quite well. Maybe I should start planning the wedding," Lisa teased her son which caused him to go bright red. He opened his mouth trying to find the perfect comeback but he couldn't think of anything. He simply resorted to looking down in an effort to hide his embarrassed face.

"Mom… I'm too young for that, and so is May." He managed to lamely get out while still avoiding his mother's face. Lisa let out a loud chortle amused at her son's embarrassment.

* * *

Back at the Maple residence Caroline and May were having a similar conversation. "So May, you want to pick out your wedding dress?" a smirk plastered on the mother's face as she looked at her daughter's red face.

"Mom no! What are you even saying. I don't love Brendan!" her voice maybe a bit too high to be convincing. Caroline's smirk widened causing May to go a brighter shade of red. She started laughing uncontrollably at her daughter's reaction. May felt like she was about to die from embarrassment, she hoped that Brendan never heard of the conversation she and her mother just had.

* * *

Brendan plopped down on his large Snorlax bean bag while grabbing one of the books his dad had given him to learn more about Pokemon. Much to his and his parent's surprise the movers were not only able to move their stuff but unpacked it as well. That did save his parents and himself the hassle of unpacking and cleaning.

"Maybe Hoenn will have a lot more to bring than Johto" he quietly said to himself before he began reading "Fantastic Pokemon and Where to Find Them".

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So that's the first chapter. Thanks for everyone who has read and give me some feedback. I"ll get the next chapter up as soon as possible.


	2. Birthday Gifts Part 1

Hi everyone! Welcome back to my little fan fiction. Hope you guys enjoy and thanks to everyone who has read so far. A big shutout to Farla who gave me advice on my paragraphing and dialogue.

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Chapter 2: Birthday Gifts Part 1

The Birch family had moved in to Littleroot Town just a couple months prior, near the beginning of spring. The family consisted of the father, Edward Birch, the mother, Lisa Birch, and their son, Brendan Birch.

The Maple family, who had also quite recently moved to Littleroot Town as well from Azalea Town in Johto, were well acquainted with their neighbors the Birches. May Maple, who was the daughter of Norman and Caroline Maple, spent much of her time playing with her next door neighbor Brendan. There were many aspects of him that she liked such as his endless pool of energy, his similar eating habits, his kindness, his smile, and his pokemon knowledge. But there were also those traits that she didn't like such as how he would wake her up bright and early each morning by throwing tennis balls at her bedroom window, and how he would constantly tease her. But other than that, they got along well.

They had learned from each other when they first met that Brendan was just a couple months older than May was. His birthday was on July 2 while May's birthday was on September 20.

His upcoming birthday was the reason why she was in the Littleroot Marketplace looking for a gift for him along with her mother. The marketplace was like the town, small, it only hosted a handful of stalls selling anything from food to electronics. Her mother had decided to take her in order to buy ingredients for their dinner.

May was at first thinking of getting Brendan a book on Pokemon, but after she had visited Brendan's room on multiple occasions she learned that he, along with his father, had already owned the majority of Pokemon books that the local bookshop sold.

She also remembered how Brendan played video games. She remembered the time when he had invited her to play a game called "Mario Kart", how he taught her the controls and then raced against each other. To say she was disappointed after she raced was an understatement. She was somehow convinced that he had purposefully taught her the controls incorrectly just to see how badly she messed up. She remembered how she had yelled at him after she had lost multiple times and he simply laughed it off as if nothing happened.

When she checked the electronics store, she unfortunately found out that the video games the store sold the boy had already owned. Well for the most part, there were some games that caught the girl's attention, but she decided to it would be better to not risk it. After all she didn't have much knowledge on games so she might end up getting something that he would dislike.

After raking her brains for more clues on what he would like she stumbled upon a toy store that sold pokemon dolls. She recalled how Brendan had a pretty decent number of pokedolls in his room.

She was actually quite shocked when she found an entire stash of the toys hidden in his closet and when she brought it up his face had grown a bright shade of red from embarrassment saying that they weren't his.

She of course didn't buy this and a long debate ensued between the two.

* * *

"Can you please not tell anyone in class about this. It's kind of embarrassing. And yes these are all mine," he finally admitted after May pestered him about it for the past half hour.

"Don't worry Brendan, I won't tell anyone in class," she responded in a tone that meant anything but.

He raised an eyebrow not buying it before he responded with, "tell anyone and I'll show the class _that"._

"You wouldn't," she fired back, her own face growing a bright shade of red as well.

"You bet I would," he shot back, pleased that he now had an edge in their little battle as a smirk crept up on his face.

After a moment of silence she finally responded with, "Fine you win this one Brendan, but next time you won't get off so easy".

His smirk grew wider knowing he had won that battle.

* * *

 _Well, let's see from what he showed me and told me about his pokedolls, he said that he had collected the Kanto and Johto starters. He did say that he wanted to get the Hoenn starters as well, but everytime he came to the store they were all sold out. Huh, perhaps I'll be lucky and find them._

"Mommy can we go into the toy store?" she asked pulling on the sleeve of her mom's sweater.

"Sure sweetie. Are you by any chance looking for a gift for Brendan?" she teased which caused May's face to grow red which only caused her mother to start laughing. After her laughter had died down she spoke again leaning down to May's height. "Between you and me, I think he would really like Mudkip, why don't you go ask the lady over there for a Mudkip," pointing at one of the store's workers.

May nodded and stormed to the lady while still thinking _what in the world is a_ _M_ _udkip?_

"Excuse me umm... do you have a Mudkip?" She spoke while looking up at the lady who was fixing some of the toy displays. She stopped to look down at May with a small smile on her face.

"Why yes little girl, we just got a shipment of them not too long ago. They're really popular among the kids so they usually almost always sell out. Why don't you wait here and I'll bring you one," the lady said as she went to look for a Mudkip for May.

May nodded before she left and sat down at one of the small chairs placed by the side of the bright wall. Her mom had come to sit next to her but she noticed that she was struggling to sit on the tiny chairs and she almost fell off not once but twice. She cracked a small smile ready to laugh at her mother before the same lady came back carrying a small blue plush of a pokemon May had never seen before.

"Here you go. This is Mudkip the Mudfish Pokemon," the lady said handing the plush to May.

"Thanks," she simply said eyeing the pokemon with slight disgust.

 _Why would someone want a pokemon th_ _at isn't cute_ she thought _. Well I guess it's not too bad. I really hope he likes this._

Her mother stood up motioning for May to follow her to the gift bag display.

"So May which bag would you like? How about this one with the cute hearts?" pointing at a small pink bag covered in pink hearts.

May paused for a moment as her face grew red.

"Mom no! Are you crazy?" she almost yelled. It took her a moment to regain her composure grabbing a blue bag with the words _Happy Birthday_ spelled across.

"This one is much better", she said while avoiding eye contact. Her mother grabbed the bag from her daughter's hands and headed towards the cashier to pay for the plush and the bag. After she had paid, she handed both the plush and bag to May giving her that devious look that always scared the young girl.

"I'm sure he will like it May," her mother teased as the pair was walking back to their house. May nodded hoping that he would, and hoping that her mother would no longer tease her.

* * *

The sound of party poppers followed by a loud "Congratulations" soon filled the living room of the Birch residence. Brendan stood on top the chair eyeing the large birthday cake with six candles as if he wanted to plant his face on it.

Everyone clapped as he blew out the candles while Lisa was in the back taking pictures. Caroline had moved to stand close to Brendan and began cutting the cake.

After Brendan had eaten about six or so slices of the cake he was greeted by his father who was holding something behind his back.

"Brendan, I think it's finally time that I give you this little fella," taking out a large glass container containing a blue pokemon egg with multiple orange spots on the surface.

Brendan's eyes widened completely taken by surprise by the gift.

"Dadyou'refinallygivingmemyownpokemosoIcanbetraainernow?" he said frantically although his dad could barely understand.

"Yes I think it's about time you got him. By the way, the pokemon inside is a surprise, so I won't tell you what pokemon it is".

"It's alright, I already love him," he said gently grabbing the glass container and giving it a soft hug.

"Take good care of him, alright".

"I will. Thanks dad".

May who was standing by the side gaining the courage to take her own gift forward was now feeling more self conscious. There was no way that she could compete with the gift he had just received moments ago. She shook her head knowing that Brendan would love her gift no matter what it was(as long as it wasn't bad games). She took in a deep breath and walked towards the boy.

"Congrats Brendan on the egg. I can't wait to see what pokemon your dad gave you". _As long as it is not a Mudkip_ she glumly thought.

"Thanks May. I'm so excited. I finally have my own Pokemon," his signature toothy grin present. She however almost laughed as she saw that his two top teeth were missing.

"So Brendan, I got you this. I hope you like it," she said as she slowly handed him bag.

Brendan who was beaming with excitement gently placed the glass container on the table and grabbed the bag from her hands. His eyes widened as he grabbed the small Mudkip plush in the bag and began hugging it.

"Thanks May. I love him. They were always sold out when I went to the store so thanks".

This time it was her turn to smile as she glad that her gift had made him happy. She gave him a toothy grin which was immediately followed by laughter by the boy as he said, "May you look so funny with your top teeth missing".

"Oh shut up," she countered back. "You also look funny with your top teeth missing," she said which caused the pair to begin laughing uncontrollably.

* * *

Pretty short chapter. I think most chapters will probably be about this length.

I added the the Littleroot Marketplace because I think the town is too small and needed more points of attraction.

As for May not particularly liking Mudkip, it's actually part of a running gag that I will introduce soon.

Thanks for taking to time to read. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon.


	3. Book Tossing

Hi everyone and welcome back to my little fan fiction. This chapter was gonna originally introduce Brendan's first Pokemon, but I had maybe a bit too much fun with his "quest for knowledge. Anyway hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3: Book Tossing

It had been well over a month since Brendan received the blue egg with orange spots from his father. He had a suspicion on what the pokemon inside the egg was, but couldn't draw accurate conclusions since many eggs from a certain type tend to have similar designs.

He knew he couldn't rush the hatching of a baby pokemon, so he had decided to be patient with the procedure. He however, decided to not take the same approach with his father.

Every evening without fail since obtaining his egg, Brendan would pester his father in an effort to annoy him to the point where he would just tell him what pokemon was inside the egg. For him this was a foolproof knowing that his father would crack sooner or later.

What he didn't expect was the iron will that his father demonstrated, fully resisting his son's pestering each and every time. The young boy pouted every night while going to sleep knowing that he had failed to get the information. But he hadn't given up yet. Not by a longshot.

Since he couldn't get the information from his dad, the boy had resorted to other means of finding out what pokemon was inside the egg.

His father however, was one step ahead in that department.

When Brendan went looking into his bookshelf, he found out that all his books regarding Pokemon breeding and eggs were somehow all gone. "Huh, how did I not notice that my books were missing? Maybe mom put them somewhere else when she was cleaning my room," he muttered.

After about a half hour of basically tearing the room apart he knew that his books were nowhere to be found. He went down to living room where his mother was watching the show "The Real Housewives of Hoenn".

"Hey mom," he called out trying to get her attention. When she didn't even move to face him, he decided to take more drastic measures. He approached from behind and threw himself on top of his mom earning a loud surprised shout.

"Brendan what was that for?" she asked as she was regaining her composure from the shock she had just gotten.

Brendan gently pushed himself off his mother's body and moved to face her. "Do you know where my books on pokemon breeding are? I can't seem to find them anywhere."

She placed her hand on her chin thinking of maybe an excuse as to why his books were missing or maybe just telling the truth. After a short pause she said in a stern voice, "Brendan your father and I thought you were too young to know where babies come from so we threw them away".

Brendan's face stayed blank taking in the information he had just received. A tick mark grew on his face before yelling "Wait even the ones Professor Elm gave me!".

When his mother nodded his face became blank again before it was filled with slight anger again. Lisa meanwhile was trying to keep a straight face. She knew that they hadn't thrown his books away, Edward had just asked her to hide the books somewhere Brendan wouldn't find them so he didn't find out what Pokemon was inside his egg.

"Wait," he said, pausing for a slight moment looking contemplative. "Dad's lab has a lot of books of Pokemon Breeding, there's no way he threw his books away."

At this Lisa struggled even further to keep her laughter contained. She actually wanted to see her son's face when he went to his dad's lab only to find out that all of his books on Pokemon Breeding were also missing. Professor Birch was truly devoted from keeping Brendan from learning about what pokemon was inside his egg.

"I'm going to dad's lab, I'll be back later," he said before the boy ran towards the house's door, putting on his tennis shoes and then running as fast as he could towards the lab.

Once Lisa knew that her son was out of earshot, she let out a long loud bout of laughter that had her grabbing her stomach because it was becoming painful to keep laughing, but she couldn't stop, no matter how hard she tried.

Brendan meanwhile had entered his dad's lab soon after exiting his own house. The lab wasn't too far from his house and at the speed he was running he got there at record time.

The glass automatic doors opened revealing the sight of multiple scientist observing and taking notes on a small brown raccoon pokemon and the strong smell of antiseptic. The scientists looked up from their clipboards with some waving at Brendan while others gave a small smile. Brendan waved back at them as he stormed further down the lab and up the stairs.

Over the last couple of months, Brendan had become well acquainted with his father's colleagues. He headed towards the lab's library where he knew he could find the information he wanted.

After an hour of scanning every book in the library, he found out that there wasn't a single one about Pokemon Breeding or raising Pokemon eggs. He began to frantically rub his hands on his hair upset that he didn't find anything that would lead him to his mystery egg.

Much to the surprise of the scientists, who were slightly snickering from outside the room from the slightly ajar door, Brendan began banging his head on the table multiple times. If he had long hair, he would definitely look like he was into metal.

Professor Birch, who was also watching from the outside snickering, stopped as he fully opened the door and walked over to his upset son who had face down on the library table.

"Brendan, my boy what's wrong?" He asked, placing a hand over the young boy's shoulder.

"Dad," he paused for a moment as he was sniffling. "It's just that mom said that you threw my books away so I came here looking for any books that could help with my egg, but I got upset when I couldn't find any here."

"Well Brendan you see, there was a burglar in town that came and stole all the books on Pokemon Breeding we had, so there's no more left in town" looking rather stern instead of drowning in laughter like he was on the inside.

The boy raised an eyebrow clearly not believing him. After a quick stare down between the two males, Birch finally spoke again, "fine Brendan I'll give you my best book on Pokemon Breeding".

At this the boy perked up showing everyone a fake smile while on the inside he was smirking.

" _Dummy he actually bought that episode. I knew that he and the other scientists were watching from the outside right from the beginning, so I staged that tantrum and tears so he would give me what I want. I should be an actor when I grow up as well",_ he thought deviously to himself.

His father came back with a hardcover book and handed it to his son. The book was titled, "The Principles of Pokemon Breeding and Pokemon Eggs" by Robert Elm.

Brendan was quick to grab the book and open it up to reveal it's knowledge. Much to his dismay and father's amusement, the book's pages were completely blank. Not even a pen mark was seen on any of the pages. Seeing his son's reaction Birch let out a laugh that would put an Exploud to shame.

"Brendan did you really think I didn't see through that little scene of yours. You are my son alright," he said wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes once he saw Brendan's reaction.

Brendan's face had grown a bright shade of red from embarrassment. He couldn't believe that his father had outsmarted him and he had done such a convincing job in his tantrum as well. Perhaps he wasn't cut out for acting after all.

"Dad you're such a meany," the young boy spoke crossing his arms trying to look threatening which only increased the laughter coming from his father and the scientists outside. His hand, which was still holding the blank book his father had given him earlier, tightened and he threw the book at his father smacking him straight in the face. Birch stopped laughing at the sudden pain on his face and began groaning as he rubbed his pained face.

"For such a small boy you throw those books like an athlete," he managed to get out through the laughter of the other scientists.

"Now we're even," he said standing up, proud of himself, from the library chair with another hardcover book in his hand readying himself as if to throw the book at the scientists who were still laughing at him by the door.

The entire group stopped laughing when the scientist at front who was laughing the hardest got a book to the face which instantly shut him up.

He was a green haired young man that wore large glasses. He slumped to the floor holding his pained face as the remaining scientists left the door and back to their work hoping to avoid getting hit in the face with a book.

"So I'll see you tonight. Bye dad," making his voice sound as sweet as possible as he left the library and entered the main part of the lab.

As he walked by, the scientists were weary to keep a close eye at his hands in case he wanted to have their faces kiss something that would hurt. They had no idea as to why when he threw stuff it always seemed to land on people's faces. They also wondered how his little arms packed so much punch into his throws. They wondered how much more it would hurt when he grew up.

He waved at them cheerfully before exiting the lab still slightly sulky he didn't get the information, but still pleased he had at least gotten his dad back for the embarrassment he caused him.

* * *

Later that night the Birch family sat down for dinner at the usual time, with Brendan's serving being more than twice the size of his parents combined.

Lisa was the first to notice the plaster on her husband's face as she asked, "so Edward, did a wild pokemon attack your face today?"

"Actually a certain little son of mine threw a book at my face".

Lisa looked at her husband then to her son. Brendan meanwhile seemed to not be paying attention as he was devouring his dinner. "Brendan did you really do that?" she asked slight concern in her voice although it sounded like she was containing laughter.

The boy stopped eating for a moment defending himself, "only because dad was a meany and embarrassed me in front of everyone".

"You even hit Joshua in the face with a book. He said you throw way too hard for a little boy," Birch spoke up again.

"Only because he was the one laughing the hardest and he was upfront so it was easy to aim for him. Taught that four eyes a lesson," he said while still shoving food into his mouth.

At this Lisa began laughing uncontrollably. Brendan wasn't sure if she was laughing at the whole ordeal or because Birch was speaking into his wife's ear most likely telling her how he had embarrassed the boy. She spoke after a short moment of calming herself down. "Really Brendan? You think we can't see through your tantrums? How dumb do you think we are?" she asked while still laughing.

At this Brendan grabbed a nearby book and hurled it at his mother. Much to his dismay however she managed to dodge the hit with ease as the book hit the back wall. "Oh please Brendan. Where do you think you got those throwing skills from?" she asked while still laughing her stomach off.

Brendan meanwhile had grown a deeper shade of red as Birch had now began laughing as well.

"Man...you guys are such meanies".

* * *

Thanks to everyone who has read so far I really appreciate it. Next chapter will definitely have the egg hatching so look forward to that.

Hope everyone who's reading from the US is having a great 3 day weekend. Till next time.


	4. Meet Skipper

Hi everyone! Welcome back to my little fanfic. This chapter will introduce Brendan's first pokemon so YAY. Also since not many characters in the anime nickname their pokemon I've decided to give nickname all of his pokemon. Anyway I hope everyone is having a great week so far and enjoy!

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Chapter 4:Meet Skipper

The following days after the "tossing books" incident proceeded rather slowly for the brunette boy. He still hadn't given up on trying to find out what pokemon was inside his egg. Every evening, like before, he would pester his father in an effort to get him to crack, but his father had the iron will of a Metagross, refusing to rise up to his son's pestering.

At one point the young boy had even threatened his father to throw more books at his face, but much to his disappointment his father knew the boy was bluffing. Or at least the professor really hoped he was. He didn't want his face to be at the end of another of his son's book tosses, but he also refused to crack under his son's threats.

Finally an exasperated Brendan went back up to his room after pestering his father for perhaps the upteenth time that evening to observe his egg. Over the past month he had been careful to keep the egg in its incubator while also occasionally taking it out to clean it. He had to make sure that the egg stayed at a constant temperature as to not threaten the baby inside as well.

He had noticed that it would occasionally move while sometimes making soft noises. At the sound of noises, he had grabbed a stethoscope from his father's bag to hear for the baby's cry, but it would always seem to quiet down when he placed the metal circle on the shell.

He remembered the next day, how he had read(before his books were confiscated) that babies like hearing music. At this he carefully took the egg downstairs where his mother was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. He headed towards the living room, towards the stand where the television and the sound system sat. He placed the egg gently on the coffee table and began opening the drawer on the stand where the CD s were organized. His mother came in from the kitchen hoping to catch more of her favorite show before noticing her son looking through the CD collection.

"Brendan, honey what are you doing," she asked as she sat down on the long couch in front of the television.

"I read in a book that babies like to listen to music. It didn't say what type of music though. You have any clue mom?" the young boy asked while still shuffling the CD s in the drawer.

His mother looked to be contemplating for a minute before she answered, "well I guess any type of music would work."

"Ok mom. Let's see. What about pop music?" pulling out a CD of a pop band from a couple years back that grew rapidly in popularity.

"Don't think the baby would like that one. Try something else." She spoke while looking at the blue egg sitting on the table. Brendan had placed the CD back in the drawer and pulled another one out.

"I think the baby will like death metal," pulling out one of his dad's favorite band's records.

At this Lisa sweatdropped saying, "I don't think the baby would like that either."

The sound of the front door opening revealed the tall form of a brown haired man wearing a white lab coat. "I'm home," he said rather tiredly before plopping down on one of the dinner table chairs.

"Long day Edward?" Lisa asked as she went to the kitchen to fetch dinner for her family.

"You have no idea Lisa," he said, stretching his arms high above his head. Brendan meanwhile had placed all the records back in the drawer before closing it. He gently grabbed his blue egg carrying it over to the dinner table, then placed it carefully on the wooden surface.

Professor Birch was mentally preparing himself for the assault he was about to receive from his son.

Lisa had returned, placing plates in front of her family members with Brendan's plate being more than twice the size of the others. As Professor Birch had suspected he began to get assaulted by his son's questions. At this point he really hoped that the little baby inside would hatch soon so he didn't have to to endure the pestering anymore.

 _Maybe it would been better to just give the boy the pokemon already in its pokeball instead of an egg,_ the professor thought as he began eating his dinner.

"So dad do you know what type of music babies like?"

"Umm… have you tried death metal? I'm sure they would like that."

"Edward, just because you like death metal doesn't mean everyone does." Lisa cut across the conversation.

Brendan clapped his hands together, "Oh I know who to ask," he beamed.

He ate the remaining of his enormous serving like a vacuum cleaner. He grabbed his plate and placed it on the kitchen sink. From there the boy ran to the living room where the phone was placed on a small stand.

"Hey Edward, you don't think he's gonna ask Professor Elm what pokemon is inside his egg do you?" Lisa whispered in case Brendan heard her and got any ideas.

Before Birch could respond he heard his son's voice from the living room. "Hi Professor Elm, there's something that I want to ask you about pokemon eggs." At this Birch stood up, sprinting towards the living room snatching the phone out of his son's hands despite the various protests from him.

"Elm this is Birch, don't answer any of Brendan's questions on pokemon eggs," he exclaimed before receiving a laugh from the other end. He handed the phone to a sulking Brendan, who only looked at his father with a blank stare. "Looks like my job here is done, have fun talking to Professor Elm Brendan." A large smirk was present on the father's face.

Brendan wasn't about to take this lying down as he placed the phone back on ear and asked, "So Professor Elm, can you tell me why dad is such a big meanie and how can I throw books harder at people's faces?"

At this Birch grabbed his son by the arms and lifted him up into the air catching him in his arms before he began a relentless ticking attack.

"I'm not a meanie," he said fighting his son's struggling and loud shouts to stop through his laughter.

"Yes you are dad," he barely managed to get out through his laughter.

The sound of cracking caused the two males to stop as they noticed the egg on the dinner table beginning to hatch. Brendan was quick to push himself off his father, sprinting towards the dining table, his father close behind. Lisa, who was at the kitchen, also entered the room curious on what made the cracking sound. Brendan placed himself directly in front of his egg as the shell kept cracking and a bright flash of white light was emitted from the egg. After the light had faded, there was a small blue quadrupled pokemon with a large fin on its head and orange cheeks.

"Mud.. Mudkip," it said staring at the boy in front of him. Brendan was smiling from ear to ear at his pokemon.

"Mudkip!" it exclaimed jumping and landing on Brendan's arms snuggling into his chest. Brendan had embraced Mudkip is soft warm hug while the pokemon kept snuggling into his chest.

"Hi Mudkip, my name is Brendan nice to meet you! Will you be my partner?" the boy asked completely ecstatic on his pokemon's hatching.

Mudkip reciprocated the action letting out a nod still snuggling into the boy's chest.

"Huh finally, I didn't know how much more of pestering I could take Brendan. Take good care of him now will ya." Birch spoke as he pulled a pokeball from his lab coat pocket handing it to his son. "Here son make it official".

"Thanks dad," grabbing the pokeball from his dad's hands then facing Mudkip. He gently tapped his head with the ball and was sucked inside. The ball shook three times before it clicked.

"Welcome to the team Mudkip, you'll need a nickname later," he spoke to himself. He jumped to his feet yelling "I gotta go show May!"

He let the small blue pokemon out as he ran towards the door in a frenzy. The sound of his mother's stern voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Brendan Birch, it is too late to go show her! You'll have to wait till tomorrow" his mother sternly said stopping the young boy from leaving the house even though he had already placed his shoes on.

"But mom" he said holding Mudkip in his arms.

"No buts young man, now it's time for your bath and bedtime".

"Ok mom," he sulkily said as he made his way towards the upstairs bathroom with Mudkip in his arms.

As he was in bathtub, Mudkip calmly swam in the warm water enjoying its comfort. "Umm you look like a Skipper. Do you want to be called Skipper?"

Mudkip stopped to face the boy. "Mudkip" he nodded diving into the water then slapping the boy in the face with water the little blue pokemon picked up with its tail. This earned a loud laugh from Brendan who also began splashing his partner with the bath water. After their splashing war had ended, the two dried themselves off. Brendan dressed in his blue pajama pants and red t-shirt ready for bed.

The sound of a grumbling stomach made Brendan face-palm himself as he remembered that he hadn't fed his new pokemon. He cursed himself for a second calling himself a bad parent before crouching down to the pokemon's height.

"Skipper want to get something to eat," he said once he was dressed. Skipper nodded and soon the pair went down the stairs to the kitchen. His mother, who was reading a magazine in the kitchen, asked what he was doing there. The boy said that Skipper was hungry and wanted something to eat.

She smiled, then pulled out bowl of Pokemon food she had made earlier in case her son had forgotten to feed the pokemon. A good call on her end if she did say so herself.

Skipper happily dug into his bowl, enjoying for the first time the taste of food. As soon as he finished, Brendan picked him back up, said goodnight to both of his parents and headed back upstairs to his room. He placed Skipper on the bed then Brendan plopped down soon after grabbing the blanket, wrapping himself and Skipper in its warmth.

"Goodnight" was the last thing that was heard in the room as the two slept.

* * *

The following morning Brendan was ecstatic in showing May his partner. He had quickly dressed out his pajamas and dressed in his usual black shorts and red t-shirt. Luckily for both him and Skipper, his parents were already awake with Lisa having already made breakfast for both boys.

"Morning," Brendan said through a mouth full of pancakes. This led to yet another playful scolding from his mother. Brendan then received a short lecture from his father about proper caring of Pokemon.

He didn't really need to explain much as the boy already read up prior to Skipper hatching, but he still listened either way. Birch then told him that he would be returning his Pokemon Breeding books which caused Brendan to let out a loud "Finally. I've been wanting to read up on those books Dad."

After discussing the many aspects of pokemon training and breeding Birch told Brendan that he was welcome to accompany him in his fieldwork trips now that he had his own Pokemon. Brendan paused for a second thinking of his options then nodding giving his approval to work with this father.

Shortly after, Birch got up from the table, took his dish to the kitchen sink, messed up Brendan's hair in a way only a dad could, then kissed his wife goodbye. Brendan was quick to follow after his father as he soon performed the same actions minus kissing his mom goodbye and messing up his hair. He grabbed Skipper who had finished eating his food, put on his tennis shoes and waved goodbye to his mother saying he would be back later.

He ran out the door with Skipper on top of his head as he made his way towards the Maple residence.

He rang the doorbell maybe a couple too many times and a distant "Coming" was heard from the inside. The door quickly clicked open revealing a groggy Caroline who still had on her pink bathrobe. She looked like she had just gotten out of bed. Her eyes scanned her surroundings before she focused on Brendan.

"Oh Brendan, what brings you here so early?" she asked while fighting the yawn that that was threatening to come out.

"Good morning Mrs. Maple I just wanted to introduce May to Skipper up here," he said pointing to his head where Skipper was laying staring at Caroline.

"Well isn't he just the cutest little thing," she beamed as she rubbed his head earning a couple delightful coos from the water type. "She should still be sleeping. Why don't you head upstairs. I'm sure a good surprise would wake her up." She was fighting the smirk that was slowly growing on her lips.

"Thanks ," he said entering the house and taking his shoes off placing them by the door.

"Morning ," he greeted as he saw Norman watching the morning programs on the television.

"Morning Brendan," he responded though he was enveloped on the talk show host speaking with and old man that was the Lavaridge Gym leader. Brendan had rushed up the stairs to May's room. It a door that had "May" spelled out using red wooden letters. He had only been to her room handful a times, roughly the same amount of times she had been in his room. He knocked loudly on the door and waited for a couple of moments. When he didn't get a response he opened the door where he saw the girl still sleeping. A devious smirk crossed his face as he jumped on her bed earning a loud shriek from the girl.

"Brendan it's way too early for this," she stood up on her bed barely able to see Brendan through blurred vision.

"Good morning sleepyhead," he teased through a toothy grin, although his top front teeth were still missing.

She groaned for a moment, stretching her arms out. After she had gained her senses, she asked "So why are you here anyway? Don't you have anything better to do than bother me?"

"I actually wanted to introduce you to little Skipper here," he said pointing to the water type lying on his head. "He hatched last night".

May who was still gaining her senses finally noticed the small water type on Brendan's head. When she fully saw the water type she thought, _out of all Pokemon why did he have to get that one? I can't see what makes it so cute._

"Isn't he just the cutest May?" Brendan gushed taking the water type off his head and into his hands so he was facing May.

"I guess he is kind of cute," she said quietly.

The water type apparently having sensed her dislike for him, decided to better or worsen the situation depending on who you ask, narrowed his eyes and shot a water gun at the young girls face. May was quickly taken aback by the cold feeling of water striking her face as she was sputtering in an effort to stop the water attack. When the attack had finally ended she noticed that Brendan had fallen off the bed and had hit the floor unable to control his laughter. Skipper soon followed relishing in the girl's misfortune.

May was feeling utterly miserable. She felt cold and her hair and clothes were dripping with water onto her bed. She spotted her amused neighbor who was laughing uncontrollably along with the water type. She wiped the water out of her face, her eyes filled with fury.

"Brendan did you train him to do that!?" she asked threateningly.

Brendan had just calmed down just enough to answer her back. "May he just hatched last night, even I don't think I could train him fast enough to do that. Maybe he just doesn't like you," he began laughing again and was now clutching his pained stomach from all the laughter.

"But why would he hate me then?" she asked getting off her bed as her clothes were miserably dripping with water.

"I don't know May. Maybe your ancestors were grass types," he continued.

He went into the bathroom and grabbed a towel for May to dry herself with. "Here May," handing her the towel. She snatched it out his hands and began drying her head and trying to dry her clothes. After a couple minutes the pair had decided to head downstairs.

As they arrived downstairs, Caroline was the first to notice her soaked daughter. "May why are you all wet?" she asked as she soon grabbed another towel to help her dry off.

"Well Brendan and his stupid pokemon decided to wake me up by using water gun on my face".

At this comment, Skipper who was on the floor shot another water gun which struck her square in the face again. This time however it wasn't just Brendan and Skipper that were laughing but Caroline looked she was struggling to keep it in. Even Norman looked like he was about to crack up.

"Brendan I swear you trained him to that!" She yelled, anger in her voice again.

"As I said May, maybe your ancestors were grass types or he just doesn't like you," the boy said struggling not to laugh again.

"Actually Brendan let's test that theory out," Norman said as he made his way towards the group where he gently picked up the water type and held it close to his face. Skipper merely offered a bright "Mudkip!" cry enjoying being held in the man's hands. Norman handed the blue Pokemon to his wife where the water type offered her the same remark earning a nice head scratch from the mother.

"Yep May, maybe he just doesn't like you," Brendan said once his theory about May's ancestors being grass types was disapproved.

* * *

So that's the end of the fourth chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed. Next chapter will be about May's birthday so look forward to that.


	5. Birthday Gifts Part 2

Hi everyone and welcome back to my little fanfic. This chapter was originally planed to be released after the second but I thought I would give Brendan a bit of time with his pokemon. So here is the fifth chapter to this short story! Hope you guys enjoy

* * *

Chapter 5: Birthday Gifts Part Two

With May's birthday just a couple days away, the young boy had to find some sort of gift to give her like she had on his birthday. This left him to wondering what exactly the young brunette girl would want. He knew for a fact that she wouldn't enjoy reading about the wonders of Pokemon breeding, nor would she enjoy playing any of the video games he owned since for some reason no matter how much he taught her, she always seemed to lose.

She would often yell at him, accusing him that he had taught her the wrong buttons just to see her mess up, and although the claim was partially true as he had only done it once or maybe twice, he was actually quite surprised how easy it was to make her believe something.

"Guess that's what people call a child's naivety and innocence," he muttered to himself as he was making his way through the Littleroot Marketplace. He had left Skipper in his pokeball in an effort to spare the water type from the summer heat. Even though it was September, the Hoenn heat could sometimes be relenting.

His dad had sent them to the marketplace earlier to pick up some lab supplies that he needed for his research. He said, that although there were other businesses that supplied the lab with its supplies, their prices were incredibly high making the supplies sold my the local pharmacy way more appealing.

Brendan had also stopped by the bookshop asking the lady that ran out it, who was called Mrs. Adams, if the shop had received any new books. He was quite disappointed when she had told him that no new books had arrived, and that he had almost basically red everybook the shop owned that she was allowed to sell for his age. She told him that she had received strict orders from his father so he didn't buy any adult books.

He thanked the old lady for her time before he went back onto marketplace's street. The marketplace like the town was small and it was run by the people of the town with a couple people from the neighboring town. Since Littleroot Town was such a small community, everyone knew each other.

There was the sweets shop run by an old couple, Mr. and Mrs. Owens. The local grocery store which was run by a middle aged couple, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips. The electronics store, which was run a by a young man, Mr. Stevens. The toy shop, which was run by Mr. and Mrs. Clarke. The bookshop which was manned by Mrs. Adams and the small pharmacy that also sold lab equipment which was manned by Mr. Hayes. Over the past couple of months, the boy had become well acquainted with owners of the stores.

"Hello Brendan, did your dad send you get more supplies today?" Mr. Hayes asked as Brendan neared the counter.

"Yeah, morning Mr. Hayes. He gave a me list this time instead of just telling me like last time".

"I can believe that. How was his face when you handed him the 'Grumpy Old Man' medicine?" the older man asked as he took the list and began gathering the supplies written on it.

"He took it... quite well actually, as in by crying for the next hour saying he wasn't a grumpy old man," the boy said with laughter coating his voice. "Even mom couldn't stop her laughing fit".

"Ha ha, next time get a picture for me will ya? Oh! I also have some 'grumpy old lady' medicine as well if you want to prank your mom," he responded while taking the bag full of supplies and placing it on the counter.

"He-heh, I don't think mom would take it as well as dad did. I could be grounded for the rest of my life." He quickly grabbed the bag slightly scared of what his mom would do if he called her old. "Thanks Mr. Hayes, just charge it to the lab like always."

"Thanks Brendan, have a nice day," the old man responded; waving at the retreating form of the boy.

"Let's see that's all dad told me to do," the boy said as he made his way down the marketplace's streets. He let out a soft laugh, "I don't think Mr. Owens will give me free ice cream like last time".

He remembered about last week, when the sweets shop owners gave Brendan a free ice cream cone and asked how many scoops he wanted. Their eyes had widened when he said he wanted twenty and they stared in shock when the boy had eaten all twenty scoops effortlessly. They would probably end up going bankrupt if they gave him free ice cream again.

He walked for a bit more and entered the local toy store where he spotted one of its owners. She waved at him as he entered and he waved back with his right hand while his left was carrying the lab supplies.

"So what brings you here today Brendan?" she asked as the boy approached.

"Actually, May's birthday is in a couple days and I wanted to get a gift for her."

"Ah young love, reminds me of when I first met Mr. Clarke," the old lady gushed which caused the boy to go a bright shade of red.

" I don't love May, get your head out of the clouds," the boy managed to say through his embarrassment.

The old lady who had been laughing just seconds ago calmed herself down asking, "so any idea on what she would like?"

The boy was racking his brain for a perfect gift for her. He had deduced earlier that books and video games were out of question. He also did not know anything about dolls, so he would rather not risk it by buying her a doll she already owned or one that she didn't like.

Then something clicked in his mind. He remembered not too long ago, after Skipper hatched, that he showed May a book on the three Hoenn starters. She pointed at the picture of the Mudkip calling it "ugly" in an effort to spite the water type, who was laying on Brendan's head. The water type of course responded the usual way by water gunning her in the face. She was still convinced that Brendan had somehow trained the pokemon to do that, while Brendan said that the pokemon just didn't like her. After she had dried herself off for what was maybe the twentieth time that evening, she went back to the book pointing at the red chick pokemon, torchic. She said that the pokemon was really cute and would like to have a plushie of it.

"Mrs. Clarke, you don't happen to have two torchics would you?" the boy asked the old lady. The reason for two was because Brendan didn't have the torchic plush to add to his collection, so he was hoping that they would have two. Every time he came to the toy store to look for plushies, they were all sold out. Apparently the kids from Oldale Town didn't have a toy store, so they would come to Littleroot Town instead.

The old lady nodded heading towards the back of the shop to check his request. Brendan meanwhile walked around the store observing the multiple displays it had set. Although he had been to much bigger and fancier toy stores when he lived in Olivine City, the one in Littleroot seemed more friendly and calm.

Mrs. Clarke came back holding an orange chick plush in her hands.

"Sorry Brendan. Looks like we only have one," she said with a small frown on her face.

"It's ok. I'm sure May will like it," he responded taking the plusie from her hands.

"Why did you want two anway?"

"Well, because I also want one. They were all sold out whenever I come, so maybe lady luck isn't on my side," chuckling as he went to the gift bag display picking out a pink bag with _Happy Birthday_ across it.

"Oh I see, well I can hold onto to one for you when we get the next shipment".

"You will?! Thanks Mrs. Clarke," he exclaimed, running up the lady and giving her a hug.

"No problem Brendan," she said as she walked over to the register to pack his things for him. "So that will be 2,500 pokedollars(A/N a pokedollar is equivalent to a Japanese yen so it's like 25 USD)," she said sternly.

"What? They're that expensive? Can't I just get a discount?" he pleaded looking at the old lady with his best puppy dog eyes.

"Brendan this is a business, not a charity, so 2,500 or you don't get the toy," she sternly responded to his plead.

"Fine," he told her. Under his breath he muttered,"grumpy old lady."

"What was that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," the boy responded in a sweet voice taking his small wallet out of his pocket. Over the past couple months his dad had been paying the boy for his jobs in the lab. It wasn't a lot, but his father reassured him he would get paid more once he was more experienced. He pulled out most of what he had from his wallet and handed it to the old lady. She accepted it a smile, giving him his change shortly after.

"Thanks Mrs. Clarke" he said grabbing both the bag from the pharmacy and the new bag from the toy store.

"Come back soon," she beamed as the boy was exiting the door.

 _I bet May is gonna like this gift_ he thought to himself as he walked back home.

* * *

Just like in Brendan's birthday, both the Maple and Birch families along with a couple other residents of the town gathered around the Maple residence dining room where May was standing on a chair eyeing the large cake with six candles on it. A loud "congratulations" was heard before she blew candles and everyone clapped. This time it was Lisa who was helping cut the cake while Caroline stood behind taking pictures.

As promised, Brendan didn't let Skipper out of his pokeball on that day, so May was spared from soggy clothes and hair. Once May was done eating practically a third of the large cake she went to the table where all the presents were. She began opening them savagely, revealing anything from dolls, to clothes on the table. Brendan who hadn't put his gift on the table earlier walked up to her carrying the pink bag behind his back.

"So May… congrats. Here's my gift." He handed his neighbor the pink bag.

"Brendan, Skipper better not be inside this bag," she said with a fierce glare although Brendan looked amused at the idea of having Skipper inside a birthday bag. She pulled out the small orange chick pokemon from the bag and her eyes widened. She hugged the small orange plush and grabbed Brendan as well enveloping in a hug. "I love it. Thank you Brendan."

"You're welcome," returning the hug.

Caroline, who was standing to the side, looked on with a smirk as she had taken a picture of the two children's moment. Lisa walked up to her noticing her devious smile before noticing the picture on the digital camera screen. "Send me a copy of that Caroline," a similar smirk on her face.

"Sure thing Lisa," she responded, her smirk grew wider.

* * *

Hope you guys enjoyed that little short chapter and I'll see you guys on the next update!


	6. Holiday Gifts

Hi everyone and welcome to chapter six of this little story. Hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6: Holiday Gifts

With the arrival of the winter season came the arrival of cooler winds to the otherwise warm Hoenn region. Although the drop in temperature wasn't as great as one would expect from a region such as Sinnoh, the temperatures had dropped nonetheless. It wasn't cold enough for it to snow, as the temperature hardly ever went below that, but it was enough to warrant the use of pants and jackets. Brendan, who didn't quite exactly like wearing these articles of clothing, still wore shorts and a sweatshirt instead of the enormous monstrosity of a jacket his mother wanted him to wear for his visit to the lab. She had bought it for him back when the family lived in Johto as winters there were colder and longer, but now that the family lived in Hoenn, the use of that huge monstrosity was impractical.

He had barely dodged his mother's attacks to get him in that jacket as he was walking towards the lab to deliver lunch to his dad, who had forgotten it again. If he wasn't so nice, he would of eaten his father's lunch and hand him the empty container.

Even though the walk was short, he realized that maybe he should of worn at least pants as his legs were getting cold.

"Mud?" the small mudfish pokemon asked as he was inside the boy's sweatshirt so he wouldn't freeze. The boy had wanted to put the Pokemon in his pokeball to have him avoid the winter air, but the small pokemon had refused to do so and instead caught a ride inside the boy's sweater.

"Say Skipper, wanna go say hi to May later? Promise not to spray her this time?" he asked, looking down at the water type, giving him a devious smile. Although the boy had tried, tried being the keyword, to get the water type to stop spraying his neighbor, he found that May's expression each time was hilarious everytime it happened and just couldn't continue to stop his pokemon from taking action.

"Mudkip!" the water type exclaimed giving the boy a wink followed by a devious smile. At this point it was like tradition that everytime the two set eyes on each other, one would end up wet while the other would laugh deviously.

He entered the lab doors where the scientists seemed to be running around frantically, throwing papers everywhere, with empty coffee mugs as far as the eye could see. The boy knew that the lab would be closed for the holidays, so the scientists wanted to get as much work done before closing. A couple of them stopped their frantic working to wave at the boy, while others looked like they were about to pass out from exhaustion. The boy waved back with his free hand while the other was carrying his father's lunch.

His father had told him to take the time off, that kids should enjoy their holidays instead of being cooped up in a lab like an adult. Of course this was met with slight protest from the boy, as he would now have less time to study pokemon, but he also knew he could spend more time with his mother and friends.

Over the last couple of months Professor Birch had been taking the boy on his fieldwork trips.

This year's Annual Researcher's Convention took place in Lilycove City at the end of summer. Brendan wasn't particularly interested in the convention as he wanted to go to the Harvest Festival that was held every year at the end of August at Petalburg City. Of course, Professor Birch had promised the boy they would be going to the festival next year, and to make it up to him, he would buy the boy all the food he wanted at the convention. This quickly turned into a huge regret as the boy alone had emptied his pockets just by the sheer amount of food he ate.

He entered his father's office where his father was laying down on his desk face down on a stack of papers.

"Dad," he called out. When the man didn't respond, the boy motioned for his mudkip to use a water attack. The water type fired a water gun, hitting the man straight in the head which immediately woke him up. He waved his arms frantically in front of him trying to stop the water attack until it subsided letting him view the perpetrator.

"I can't tell which one of you is more evil, you or Skipper," the man said mope-fully, standing up to grab a towel to dry himself off.

"Good to see you too dad," the boy sweet fully responded. "Mom said you forgot your lunch, so I bought it for you." He walked over to his father's desk where he placed the lunchbox. "You sure you don't need help? I have nothing to do you know".

"Nah, I'm fine son. You should enjoy your winter vacation while it lasts. You won't be a kid forever," the Professor responded while drying his hair.

"If you say so."

"Here why don't you go have some fun at the marketplace?" He suggested,taking out his wallet and handing his son some money. "Maybe buy something for May," he teased with a wink and a devious smirk. This caused the boy to go bright red from embarrassment.

"Umm… thanks dad," he managed say as he took the money and making sure not to say anything else as it would make things awkward. He walked out the room with Skipper in tow and waved goodbye to his father, "See ya later tonight dad."

"See ya son," he responded,waving back to the boy as he sat back down on his desk.

The boy entered the main part of the lab, where scientists were still frantically running around getting as much work done as possible. This time however, they seemed to be too preoccupied with their work as not a single one waved at the boy who was leaving the lab.

"Skipper do you want anything for Christmas?" He was currently walking down the street to the marketplace.

The pokemon looked contemplative for a minute responding with a nod and a loud "Mud!"

"Let's find something for you then little buddy," he responded as the pair entered the marketplace that was decorated with christmas lights and decorations. A large Christmas tree stood near the center of the market shining brilliantly even though it was noon.

"Umm can you give me a clue Skipper?"

"Mudkip kip kip," he answered back suspiciously which caused the boy to raise an eyebrow.

"Really that's what you want?" Although the boy didn't fully understand the water type, the pokemon always adopted a suspicious undertone when speaking of May, so he knew it had something to do with her. "If that's what you want, then I won't stop you then." A smile had grown on his face.

"Mud!" the pokemon exclaimed inside the boy's sweatshirt.

After about a minute they entered the toy shop, where he met with one of the owners, Mr. Clarke. The two talked for a moment, mostly about holiday plans before the man returned and gave the boy a small gift bag which contained a small orange chick pokemon plush. The boy had returned the following weeks to see if the stores had gotten a new shipment of the plushies, but he had no luck. The store however, did get a new shipment of Treecko plushies, which the boy immediately bought.

"Wait Mr. Clarke, you're just gonna give it to me cause your wife said she would make me pay every last pokedollar," he said, slightly hesitant to take the toy.

"Hah hah! Don't listen to that grumpy old lady my boy. Consider it a christmas gift on behalf of the store," the man said smiling at the boy who was still slightly reluctant in taking the toy.

"Well thanks , Merry Christmas," he thanked, taking the bag and giving the old man a wide smile.

"Merry Christmas to you too my boy. Please come visit us again."

* * *

Brendan walked out of bookshop with a brand new book that the owner had recommended. Although she said it wasn't something that he would normally read, the old lady said that he would enjoy the book nonetheless. She hadn't even charged him for it!

The young boy looked at the book titled _Of Love and Ghosts_ by Shauntal, an aspiring young novelist from the Unova region that was quickly gaining fame and popularity due to her romantic novels. Rumor had it that she was also a great pokemon trainer.

The boy placed the book inside the bag containing the orange chick pokemon plush. He suddenly remembered the money his father had given him, thinking of maybe buying May a gift.

Just like on her birthday, the boy was having a rather difficult time in deciding what to give her. He absentmindedly walked into the small clothing shop where a certain young brunette girl was shopping. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the girl hide underneath the clothing racks in an effort to avoid the boy.

"Why is he here?" She asked while making sure she looked as inconspicuous as possible. She had even pulled some of the clothing further down the rack with her free hand to hide her presence. She was currently clutching a white hat with a black headband attached to it with a half pokeball design on the bottom. "I can't let him see me, or he will see his christmas gift", she whispered.

She slowly crawling underneath the racks in an effort to avoid being spotted. Just then she came eye to eye with her worst nightmare. Skipper, who Brendan set down on the floor earlier, had somehow found her and was now staring right at her.

 _Please don't! Please don't!_ she thought to herself. If Skipper sprayed her in the face, like he usually did, her position would be given away and her surprise would be ruined.

The pokemon seemed to have taken pity on her as he turned around and walked back to the boy's side who was at the other side of the store.

She let out a relieved breath of air as she slowly stood up, glancing slightly over the clothing racks to spot the boy who was in the small girl's department. "Wait, why is he there? Could he be buying something for me as well?" she muttered under her breath as a slight blush took hold of her face. She rapidly made her way to the cashier where a young woman named Gina charged her for the hat. May subtlety glanced back to where Brendan was, and to her utter relief he looked like he was absorbed in the clothing.

 _I hope he stays like that a bit longer. I don't want him to see the hat_ she thought to herself.

"Here you go miss, have a Merry Christmas," the young cashier spoke handing May her change and bag. The girl quickly nodded, took the items and ran out of the store.

The cashier who had noticed the entire scene chuckled to her herself, "I think she has a crush on him."

Brendan meanwhile had been too absorbed in the clothing that he hadn't even noticed May. He glanced over the the hats the store had on stock before his eyes zeroed in on a red bandanna with a large white pokeball design. "Say Skipper, do you think May will like this?" He asked the Pokémon who was standing by his side. He took the bandanna off the display so the pokémon could see.

"Kip Kip," he nodded earning a grin from the boy.

"Alright thanks pal," taking the bandana to where the cashier from earlier was standing.

"Will that be all Brendan?" she asked, scanning the item, taking his money, handing his change back then the bag.

"Yeah, thanks Gina, I think May will like this gift," moving his face away from the young woman so she didn't see his blush.

'I'm sure she will. Merry Christmas Brendan."

"Thanks, you too Gina," he responded, placing Skipper back inside his sweatshirt and grabbing the earlier toy bag from the floor.

Once he was out of earshot Gina gushed, "I think he also has a crush on her."

* * *

May was rushing back to her home in an effort to avoid Brendan, that was a close call, and she didn't want to take any more chances. The monstrosity of a coat her mom forced on her before she went to the marketplace was making it hard to her to move. She quickly opened the door to the her house quickly shutting it behind her. She was panting as she was leaning against the door, but also relieved that she was home.

"So May, how did shopping for Brendan go?"Caroline asked catching sight of her panting daughter.

"Mom he almost caught me. He entered the clothes store and Skipper almost sprayed me," she panted. She took a moment to calm herself down and removed her large jacket.

"Did he see you though?"

May took a quick breath, "no, I don't think he saw me".

"Then there's nothing to worry about, why don't you show me what you bought?" motioning her daughter into the living room so they could sit on the couch. May pulled out the white hat out of the white bag and gave it to her mother for her to see.

Caroline eyed it for a minute, "I think he will look pretty cute in it, so good buy May!"

May could feel the blush creep on her face. "I really hope so too mommy."

Over at the Birch residence Brendan was getting a similar talk from his mother.

* * *

The Birch family had invited the Maple family to their home from Christmas. Both families decided to cook, since they knew that if one just cooked, there wouldn't be enough food to feed their ravenous children. The tall christmas tree in the living room was lined with presents of all sizes all wrapped in different colored paper and bags.

To everyone's surprise, except Brendan's, May was the first to receive her Christmas gift from Skipper as she was greeted with a water gun to the face as soon as she entered the home. Of course she was furious that her hair was messed up, but at this point she should of known to not do her hair nicely.

"Brendan you promised me you would keep Skipper in his Pokeball!" she yelled clenching her fists to her side.

"Well, I also promised Skipper to let him out his ball, so he could enjoy the celebration," running away from the rampaging May as she was chasing him while laughing at her misfortune.

When the feast was ready, both children were quick to sit themselves at the dining table as their mother's handed them large plates filled to the brim with food. May was determined this time around, to finally defeat Brendan in a eating contest. Although she had pulled ahead early on, Brendan's stack of empty plates to his side was quickly catching up and overtaking her own stack. She shoved more food in her mouth in an effort to keep up her small lead but it was all for naught when she saw, to her horror, that Brendan's stack of plates was more than twice her size.

"Looks like I win again May," he teased her a victorious smirk on his face.

"Shut up! It's only because you're a boy and boy's eat more!" pouting that she had lost yet again.

Their parents let out a bout of laughter at their children's interactions. They could never figure out how both children were still so small and skinny, even if they did eat like a Snorlax.

Brendan pulled May out of the dinning room and into the living room where there was a Christmas movie playing.

"It's actually my favorite movie May. It's a story of a Halloween Gengar who wants to bring joy to everyone on Christmas, so he has Delibird kidnapped so he can give gifts in his place. Gengar's lover, Froslass, tries to stop him on multiple occasions but he never listens. Things don't turn out as he planned and he realizes he made a huge mistake by kidnapping Delibird. From there he frees Delibird from the clutches of Bennete and he returns Christmas to all the children."

"Sounds boring."

"You sound boring."

The pair continued watching Christmas movies on the television while their parents were back in the dining room discussing who knows what. Norman and Caroline were the first to make their way to the living room, joining the pair in watching movies. Lisa and Birch followed soon after. Although both children wanted to sleep, they also had a bigger urge to open their presents. They both stared at the clock on the wall, waiting for the clock to hit 12:00 AM.

Their eyes were already starting to close before a loud shout of "Merry Christmas" from their parents jerked them back awake. The two children who were still dozy from being abruptly woken up jumped to their feet looking at their parents like they were crazy. They looked at the clock noticing that it was now Christmas day, and rushed towards the presents underneath the tree. Both children opened the gifts like there was no tomorrow. Their parents soon to follow behind them. The boxes revealed gifts such as clothes, books, videogames, purses, perfume, chocolates, and even a blue blanket for Skipper. Skipper meanwhile was already asleep in Brendan's room, refusing to wait for their present opening.

"Umm Brendan."

"May," both children said at practically the same moment.

They laughed for a short moment, their hands behind their backs. "I got you this," they both said, handing each other a gift bag where they were quick to take the contents outside. Brendan took out the white hat out his bag, while May took out her red bandanna. They both eyed their gifts for a moment before saying, "thanks."

Brendan was the first to try on his new hat. He placed it on top of his head noticing that it was a bit too big, but he knew he would grow into it. May, with a bit of help from her mother, wrapped the red bandanna around her head. They both looked back to each other, enveloping each other in a hug.

"Merry Christmas," they both said, heading back to the living room where Brendan had gotten a new gaming console and a new version of "Mario Kart."

Like before, Brendan taught May the controls incorrectly and watched with amusement as she struggled to control her racer. This time, she knew without a doubt that the boy taught her the wrong controls and smacked him lightly on the arm, only earning a small laugh from the boy.

They soon fell asleep on the couch, leaning against each other. Their mothers of course were the first to take action at their children's sleeping form. They immediately grabbed their cameras and began taking multiple pictures of their children. They both still had the headgear the other had been given making the picture more adorable. Norman and Birch watched from a side smiling at their wives and children.

"So Norman, looks like we will be grandparents soon," Birch joked.

"Looks like you're right Birch."

The following morning was an awkward one between the the two six year olds. They had both fallen asleep on the couch and were practically hugging each other when they woke up. They both had jumped away from each other as if they carried some disease. After some awkward silence Brendan finally spoke.

"Guess we'll see each other in new years," he said,still looking away as a small blush was present on his face.

May nodded a "yeah" while still keeping her face looking away from his.

What neither of them expected was that they would both contract the flu during new years.

Lisa said, "I told you so" while taking care of her son, clearly reminding him as to why he has to wear that monstrosity of a jacket. Skipper was sleeping to the side of Brendan before a loud sneeze from the boy woke him up.

Caroline and May were in a similar position. She told May, "May you really gotta get Skipper to stop hating you."

She let out a groan and pulled the blanket over her head. "Stupid Brendan. Stupid Skipper," she muttered before sneezing into her tissue.

* * *

Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. Updates will probably take longer since school started back up and the professors are already being relentless. I will still try to update weekly though but no promises. Anyway thanks again for reading and leave a review if you like the story. Till next time!


	7. Failed Tests

Hi everyone and welcome back to the seventh chapter of this little story. Hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 7: Failed Tests

May was wearing a long, beautiful white floral kimono with a cotton hat placed on her head. She was walking behind a couple of shrine priests who were playing soothing flute music as she neared the entrance of a shrine. She looked to her right side noticing a tall man wearing a black kimono and gray striped hakama (kimono pants), along with what appeared as a white pompom in front of his chest. He also carried a parasol to not only cover himself, but her as well as it was slightly drizzling.

She looked up to him again to finally recognize that messy brown hair of her neighbor Brendan. He looked significantly older than what May had seen and so did she once she saw her reflection as the pair walked by a nearby water fountain.

She was shocked to find that she looked the way she did. She noticed that she was a full fledged grown up now instead of the little girl she thought she knew. She noticed just how beautiful she looked wearing her garment. She looked absolutely stunning.

She took another glance at Brendan and this time he turned to fully face her. May had nearly lost her breath. He had matured very well and she couldn't find no other word could describe him other than handsome _._

He gave her a grin noticing that this top two teeth weren't missing like she was so used to. A blush began creeping over her face before she asked, "Brendan?"

"Yeah?" he responded, his voice significantly deeper than what she remembered.

"Where are we going?" she asked uneasily.

"We're going to the shrine to get married silly," he responded cheerfully with another smile. He showed her his right hand where a silver ring was on his ring finger. She quickly looked down at her right hand noticing that a similar ring was placed on her ring finger. "We've been planning this for a while now," he added a couple moments later. "Our moms made sure everything went off without a hitch," he joked.

 _Ma-Ma-Married? Wait aren't we too young to get married?_ She asked herself still walking next him.

The sound of loud obnoxious tapping caused the scene to float away as she was slowly brought back into reality. She slowly opened her eyes, staring at the beige ceiling of her bedroom. She was still uneasy about the entire ordeal she had seen just moments ago. She was quietly panting trying to rid her mind of the scene.

Perhaps her mother's teasing had finally gotten to her.

She stared at the ceiling for another moment until another tap from her window brought her out of her thoughts.

She knew that sound all too well and when she glanced at her digital clock sitting on her small desk, she jumped out her bed and into her feet yelling, "Oh no! I'm gonna be late again!"

As if on cue she heard a loud, "May Maple you are going to be late! Brendan is already outside waiting for you!"

"Coming mom," she yelled, running towards her closet and taking out her school uniform.

Over the past two years, she and Brendan were enrolled in Petalburg's Trainer's School, which also doubled as a regular school, since Littleroot and Oldale Town didn't have their own schools.

She quickly changed into her uniform that consisted of a white button up shirt, a red bow tie, a long dark blue skirt, long blue socks and black dress shoes. She went into the restroom to fix her bed head, brush her teeth, and wash her face.

She hurried downstairs once she was fully dressed. Her mother immediately told the girl to sit down and eat as she placed a large plate of breakfast in front of her.

"May hurry up and eat or you'll be late. You don't want Brendan mad at you for being late again would you?" a teasing tone in her voice.

May was too preoccupied with her breakfast to pay her mother any mind.

When she didn't get a response, Caroline went back to kitchen to clean up the dishes. Norman had left earlier that week, so he wasn't able to take May to school today. Both families had agreed that, although Professor Birch was a fast driver, it would be best for Lisa to take the kids to school.

May ate her breakfast at a record pace, finishing the enormous serving in just under two minutes. She brushed her mouth with a handkerchief, grabbed her large lunchbox her mother had placed on the table earlier as well as her backpack and went to the door.

"Bye mommy, love you,"she said, briskly exiting the door.

"Have a great day sweetie," Caroline responded from the kitchen.

She opened to door to reveal an annoyed brown haired neighbor of hers who was tapping his foot impatiently wearing a similar uniform to hers. He wore a white long sleeved button up shirt, a dark pair of blue shorts, long blue socks, a red necktie, and black dress shoes.

"Finally!" he exclaimed sounding annoyed. "Come on let's go," he said.

Before May could respond to his statement. He grabbed her hand and guided the girl to the Birch's car.

She looked at his hand that was wrapped around her own as a blush began growing on her face. She was clearly remembering the strange dream she had last night.

He opened the door of the gray jeep, impatiently waving at her to get inside. Once she was inside, Brendan followed in and quickly shutt the door behind him. He quickly put on his seatbelt as May did the same. She knew he wouldn't be happy if she had made them arrive late again.

She heard a "good morning May, how are you today? Sleep well?"

"Yeah Mrs. Birch, I slept well-" a voice cut through her.

"Mom can we go now, we are gonna be late again because of this Komala," he boy annoyingly teased.

She stuck her tongue out at him while he ignored her. "Aye Aye Brendan," Lisa said from the front seat driving onto the dirt road at a much less frantic rate than her husband. May meanwhile looked at Brendan who had made it his mission to avoid contact with her. She knew he was irritated. She knew he was the type of person that was always on time, while she herself well… she tended to oversleep in more cases than not.

They would probably get another scolding from their teacher if they didn't arrive on time. She glanced back at the boy and thought it had been a while since she saw Brendan irritated. He seemed almost like a completely different person.

The way to Oldale town was short, but the way to Petalburg was much longer. It usually took his dad about half an hour to get to Petalburg from Oldale, but that was course with his frantic driving. It generally took Lisa about an hour to get to Petalburg from Oldale.

The school days weren't very long as May was informed by Brendan when they had first enrolled. The days only lasted from nine in the morning until one in the afternoon. Since Hoenn's trainer age was set at twelve by the league, schools could have shorter days but students would go to school for longer periods of time. In the Kanto region, the age a trainer could begin their journey was ten, so Kanto schools generally had longer school days as they had to cram the same amount of information in a shorter period of time. This of course only applied if you're planning to be a trainer as those who didn't can have different school times according to the career they wish to pursue.

"So anything exciting happening in school kids?"

"Umm," May paused for second thinking of what was going to happen today. "I don't think there's anything exciting for today," continuing her train of thought.

"We are having that big multi subject test today May," the boy responded still looking away from her. The girl honestly wanted to smack him or something as her anger was escalating due to not being given full attention by the boy.

All of these thoughts of course happened before his words dawned on her. She realized that she wasn't at all prepared to take the test. She had tried to study, tried being the keyword, but she was always getting distracted by everything going around her. The sound of her mother cleaning, the smell of her cooking, the sounds of the television playing in the background, the grumbling of her belly and an exasperated Brendan who was getting tired of having to tutor her.

He had agreed to help her study, but it soon turned out to be a harder task that he had anticipated. Since he was so used to digging his nose into books, studying came naturally to him, while in May's case he found it hard to keep her attention on the study material for even a minute. It had definitely been a long study week for the two kids.

"Well, I hope you two do great!" Lisa cheerily said from the front seat.

"Thanks ," May responded, feeling her spirits rising from the mother's enthusiasm.

Brendan merely nodded in her direction while still avoiding May's gaze.

The remaining of the trip was rather silent, besides the sound of the music playing on the radio. May and Lisa made small talk while Brendan just sat in silence, wishing that on this day his dad would have drove him to school.

Petalburg's buildings were coming into view after about an hour and with it came the large gray building of the Petalburg Trainer's School. Rustburo City also had a trainer school, but the city was too far away for the students of Oldale and Littleroot to attend.

Outside the school but inside its gates, multiple battle arenas were drawn on the dirt with a couple of students practicing mock Pokemon battles. The inside already saw students inside their classrooms being taught the basics of pokemon training and care as well as other subjects such as math and reading.

"Here we are kids, have a great day you two," Lisa said as she stopped the car in front of the building.

"Thanks mom," Brendan briskly said, grabbing his black backpack from his seat, opening the door then quickly walking out and shutting it.

May grabbed her own red backpack, opened the other before saying, "thanks ," then shutting the door.

Brendan was already on her side of the door as he grabbed her hand again and began to hurriedly drag her to the school building. He was walking rather hurriedly, almost like a half run half walk while May trailed behind almost tripping on multiple occasions due to his speed. He didn't stop to face her, and it's a good thing he didn't as the girl kept staring at their intertwined hands with a small blush on her face. The images from last night were still present in her mind. She stopped for a moment which also caused the boy to stop in his tracks.

"May come on or we are gonna be even more late." He looked back at the girl who had suddenly stopped.

"What's the the big hurry smartypants?" she countered with.

"We are already gonna get scolded by the teacher for being late again, but I don't want to miss our test."

"It's not like it's the end of the world," she sarcastically responded as they began walking again and soon entered their classroom where their teacher was already handing out test papers. At this point she wasn't even surprised that the pair had arrived late, she simply waved at them to take their seats so the scolding was out of the question. She had scolded them enough, and was honestly getting tired of doing it.

Luckily for May, Brendan's seat was right next to her, and she knew for a fact that he would ace this test, so she had decided to take a "little" peek at his paper.

Brendan knew that May would do this, so he decided to get her back for making them late.

As soon as the teacher handed everyone in the class their papers she said, "Alright everyone, you have an hour to finish this test. Eyes on your own paper, and good luck," taking a seat on her desk and beginning to surf the internet for who knows what.

Brendan meanwhile had moved his paper closer to May so she could see his answers. It was like he was tempting her.

May had made the fatal mistake of simply copying the answers without actually reading the question.

Brendan reached the last question and answered it "honestly" before May copied it. She was among the first people to get up and turn in her paper as the teacher had simply kept observing her computer screen.

Brendan had made a point in waiting for May to sit back down before a devious smirk crossed his face. This was his payback, and although some might see it as mean and unreasonable, he had let May copy his tests all year long, earning her high grades she didn't really deserve, so it was time she learned the hard truth. He grabbed his white eraser and proceeded to begin erasing his entire test paper. May who was calm after turning in her exam noticed that the boy was erasing his entire paper.

Her eyes widened in shock and anger as he finished erasing his answers. He looked at her, a devious smirk on his face before grabbing his pencil and beginning to write the correct answers.

May could only glare at him, knowing that she had been tricked. She didn't want to admit, but all year she had always sat next to him and taken peeks at his tests which always got her high grades. This was partially one of the reasons as to why she didn't study, because she knew she could count on her neighbor, until today that is.

Brendan wasn't completely evil. He had answered some of the questions right the first time around, but enough for her to not get a pat on the back from their teacher, but rather a sigh and a discussion with the teacher and perhaps her parents.

He stood up, turning in his paper, then quickly sat down where a furious May was glaring daggers at him. In her mind she thought, _you are so gonna get it once we leave this class._

Brendan could only give her a cheeky smile thinking to himself, _that's what you get for making us late and copying all year._

The next couple of hours after the test saw an angry May chasing after a laughing Brendan. The other students looked on as if the pair was crazy. This time it was she who was irritated while the boy seemed to have returned to his normal self.

She never did manage to give him "what's his" as she was called by the teacher on that same day to discuss her test score.

The teacher had noticed how her test score was dramatically lower than her previous ones. Perhaps she had suspected that she had copied off Brendan, but she didn't mention it.

The teacher had asked the girl as to why she thought wailord was the lava pokemon and how the girl's math was way off. Easy to say, her anger had been forgotten, being replaced with embarrassment. She knew from that point on that she would have to take studying seriously if she didn't want to make a fool of herself to all the teachers or to Brendan, or even worse her parents. How would she explain those answers, especially to her father. She couldn't just say that she got them because she looked at Brendan's paper, nor would they believe her, so she had to come with another excuse. She dreaded the moment her parents saw the scores she had gotten.

* * *

Truth be told, Brendan was feeling a bit a pity for the girl once he saw her moping face. He invited her to eat some ice cream with him once they were let out of school. May's blue gray eyes shined with bright mirth liking the idea of ice cream, especially after the embarrassment of today.

The two children were seen walking towards the Petalburg Gym in the early afternoon hours. They were each holding an ice cream cone with about ten scoops of the sweet icy treat stacked on top of each other. The way that each child managed to balance the scoops without it falling still baffles their parents to this day. They were both still laughing at the face the boy at the ice cream parlor made when they told him they wanted to eat that much ice cream.

"So Brendan will you help me study for our last test?" She asked, taking a large bite out her ice cream. A shudder ran through her spine as the icy treat entered her mouth.

"Sure, as long as you don't get distracted every five seconds like last time or we will have a repeat of today," he answered, referring to their earlier test that day.

The girl next to him grew red in embarrassment. "The teacher thought I was stupid," she mumbled.

The boy commented with, "well aren't you?"

He dodged the punch that came his way while beginning to laugh.

"I'm just kidding May," he managed through his laughter and taking a bite of his icy treat. "Just study a bit more and I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Thanks Brendan." Stopping herself from throwing another punch. "Do you think you'll come to the Harvest Festival this year?"

The boy looked thoughtful for a moment, looking up at the sky. "I think dad said something about some sort of meeting taking place during that time he wants to take me to."

"Oh," she answered back, looking down at the floor.

She felt a hand land on her shoulder, "don't feel bad May, I'm sure next year I'll go".

She managed a nod, looking into his gray eyes. The noticed that their height was almost the same. Actually now she took a closer look, she could see that she was a centimeter or two taller than he was. Perhaps she would get him back by teasing him about his height. She knew he would probably pull out a measuring tape and take their heights only to realize that she was slightly taller. She laughed internally, thinking of all the teasing she could get out of this situation.

* * *

They had been spending some time in the Petalburg Gym almost everyday after school. There Brendan was able to see Norman in action if he had any challengers while also observing the pokemon of the challengers. He found out that Norman was as tough as everyone said. He calculated that more than half of his challengers weren't able to get his badge, meaning that he would have seriously work hard if he wanted to win his badge once he became a trainer.

May spent most of her time watching the television and eating in the gym's living quarters. The space was big enough to fit a living room, kitchen, bathroom and three bedrooms.

Her dad had considered moving the family here from Littleroot before as it would be more convenient, but Caroline and May loved Littleroot so much that they hated to move away.

She would occasionally go down to see her dad battle with his mighty pokemon, but she never stayed long. She often found herself being bored of watching other pokemon battle.

She was currently watching one of her favorite movies. It featured a young studious girl being trapped in a castle with a Pangoro as he had her father trapped in his castle. Over time the love between the girl and beast grew, revealing that the Pangoro was always a handsome prince on the inside. All thoughts from last night's dream were abandoned once she concluded that it was because of her mother's teasing that she had such a dream to begin with.

As her attention was fully placed on the television, the girl failed to notice the entrance of a guest into the room.

An annoyingly familiar mud fish took her attention away from watching the movie by spraying her in the face with water gun like he always did. She had been wondering when she was gonna get sprayed today.

The school didn't permit its students to bring and use their own pokemon as they would practice mock battles using the school's pokemon, but Brendan always snuck Skipper's pokeball inside his backpack and released him once they were inside the gym or outside school grounds. Today it would seem like he had been released at the arena and he had somehow made his way to where May was like he had some sort of "brunette girl detector".

She wiped the water out of her face glaring at the water type. "Skipper I hate you."

"Mudkip kip," he responded back gleefully, walking towards the door and exiting it.

 _Maybe Brendan sent him here to mess with me,_ she thought irritably, using a towel to dry her face and hair.

She heard a loud knock, followed by a disappointed looking father and an amused brown haired boy entering the room. The father was holding a piece a paper and May knew automatically that those were her test scores from earlier that day.

"Wanna explain yourself baby girl?" he asked in a sickeningly sweet tone.

This day was just getting better and better.

* * *

AN: Poor May, it's just not her day huh. The first part of the story was actually based off a dream I had when I was much younger and since Hoenn is based of Kyushu I wanted to incorporate some Japanese vibes into the story. But was May's dream just a dream or was it a vision?

The testing part was based from one of my experiences in elementary school although I won't say if I was the one being trolled or the one doing the trolling.

Anyway hope you guys enjoy and as always look forward to the next update and leave a review if you like the story.

A new character will be introduced soon. Can anyone take a guess on who it will be?


	8. Where do Babies Come From?

Hi everyone and welcome back to chapter eight of this story. Hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 8: Where do Babies Come From?

May had noted that her mother had been acting rather strange for the past couple of weeks. More often than not, her mother would be seen throwing up at the toilet every morning, then eating the most absurd of food combinations. The girl nearly threw up when her mother was eating a peanut butter and pickle sandwich with some added mayo.

Her father on the other hand looked like he was used to her wife's strange behavior. Well at least now he was.

She had also noticed that her mother was using the restroom a lot more often than before. Perhaps she had just been drinking a lot of water. And although her mother would kill her if May said it to anyone, she had been farting quite a lot.

"So that's how it is Brendan. Is my mom sick?" She asked, sitting down at a library table at the research lab already drying her hair.

She had decided to ask Professor Birch about the subject of her mother that morning, but he was busy with work, so she went for the second best thing, Brendan. They were already studying in the library for their upcoming fall exams and it was clearly present on the brown table. There were multiple open books laid across the surface along with multiple worksheets from both children.

Brendan was currently reading a book called _The Proper Care and Raising of Pokemon._ Having already finished all of his work and helping May when it was necessary. He closed the book then looked at May's direction. An amused expression plastered on his face.

"So if I told your mom that you told me she farted a lot, should I get your coffin ready?"

"Brendan I'm being serious. Is something really wrong with my mom?" She quickly responded back, not quite in the mood for his little games.

He got up from the table, placing the finished book back on the large bookshelves. He turned back to face her.

"Yes May you should be very worried. Your mother may have contracted Pokefluenza. Books say that it turns humans into pokemon so it looks like you'll be having a pokemon as a mother soon," he said in a serious tone that caused the girl's face to darken.

"Oh my god! Can't it be stopped?" Her face had now taken an expression of utter horror.

The boy was clearly having too much fun with his joke, but he knew that he shouldn't tease her like that any further else she might have a heart attack. "I'm just kidding May, there's no such thing as Pokefluenza," cracking up with laughter.

The girl however was not amused that her gullible nature had gotten the best of her again. Her formerly frightened expression quickly melted into one of fury as she threw a book at the boy at full force.

Much to her dismay and the boy's amusement, her aim was way off which caused the book to strike the bookshelf to the left of the boy.

"Your throwing skills could use some improvement you know."

"Shut up!" She responded, fury in her voice. After a couple of calming breaths she spoke again. "So is there anything wrong with her?"

"Well there isn't anything wrong with her. She's just going through a lot of changes that's all," he calmly responded. He picked up the book the girl had throw earlier and began looking for its appropriate spot.

"What do you mean by that?" Giving him a questioning look.

"Well… let's say that you will soon be a sister," sitting back down on the table to look straight at May's eyes.

"Sister… sister… sister, wait am I gonna be forced to wear that black robe and hat?"

At this the boy chortled. Clearly she was thinking of a different type of sister than the one he had in mind. May looked at him again with a questioning glance.

"May not that type of sister. I'm saying that your mom is having a baby," he managed once his laughing fit had stopped.

"Baby... baby," the words still ringing in her head. "Wait so you're saying that I will have a sibling? And how do you know all this?"

"Easy," he answered back, standing back up to bring a large hardcover book titled, _Babies and Where they Come From._

"Dad originally took it away, saying I was too young to read it, but I was eventually able to sneak it out of his office. It was quite an interesting read."

May eyed the book on the table with some apprehension. The amount of pages seemed to have intimidated her so she asked, "so I just gotta read this book and I'll know where babies come from?"

"Well you can read it if you want, or I can give you a smaller version of it," sitting back down, taking the book away from her reach.

"Umm yeah, if you would be so kind."

"Great! So to begin," coughing into his hands then pulling out a large chalkboard to help his explanation. "When a mommy and daddy love each other, they make a special order to the Pelipper. The Pelipper then bring the mommy and daddy a baby for them to love, the end," giving the child friendly explanation to the eight year old girl along with some child friendly drawings on the chalkboard.

"Wait that entire thick book just said that?" shocked that it contained such little information.

"Of course not May, I just gave you the child friendly version of it. After all this book showed some disgusting things."

He stood back up to place the large book back in its spot.

"Oh yeah like what?" Raising an eyebrow at the book and the boy.

"Well you see, when a mommy and daddy love each other very much, the daddy inserts his-" he was cut off my a loud opening door followed by a tall brown haired bearded man. He had obviously been watching the conversation from the outside and had now decided to finally take action.

He smiled down at the pair, "Brendan my boy, why don't you guys go out and buy some mochi or something, instead of talking about babies," already taking his wallet out handing Brendan a couple of Pokedollars to visit the town's sweets shop.

The young boy took the hint. He knew he was speaking of an adult subject, the only reason why he knew so much of it was because his dad had often left the library unsupervised, which allowed the boy to read whatever book he wanted. He still remembered the faces their parents made when he had asked them that night what "intercourse" was.

They of course tried denying everything, until he pulled the book out showing its images. Of course that not only silenced them, but shocked them as well. They were meaning to have the "talk" with him when he was older, not he was just eight years old. Lisa was later lecturing her husband how he should have some books removed from the lab's library.

The last thing professor Birch wanted was having young innocent May talking to her parents about "making love". He could just imagine the looks Caroline and Norman would give him specifically, since they probably wouldn't blame Brendan. He would rather May's parents have the talk with her rather than his son giving the young girl the talk.

May had been watching the scene between father and son in silence. Obviously it looked like they were communicating telepathically, or at least her little impressionable mind thought so. She knew that Professor Birch was telling Brendan to stop their baby talk, diverging their attention away by sending them to eat sweets.

"Come on May," he heard the boy. He picked up Skipper who had been napping, placing him inside his gray hoodie. Professor Birch smiling behind him. The boy grabbed all the books he had picked up earlier when he was tutoring May and placed them back on their respective shelves.

"Coming," she managed to say before her hand was grabbed by his and she was dragged away from the lab, the boy was obviously excited about eating the sweets.

Professor Birch had stayed behind in the library feeling the relief of having such a potentially adult topic kept secret to the young girl, well at least for now that is.

As the pair was walking through the cool autumn air, May had noticed that the height difference between the two had gotten quite a bit bigger. She now saw that she was at least three or maybe four centimeters taller than the boy. She still hadn't believed that she hadn't even teased the boy. She was sure that he had at least noticed the difference and maybe didn't even care, or maybe he just didn't even notice at all.

They entered the marketplace going straight into the sweets shops where the owners Mr. and Mrs. Owens were manning the place. They both enthusiastically greeted the children, gaining enthusiastic waves from both children. They both visited the sweets shop often, and more often than not, they would buy an immense amount of sweets.

"How can we help you two?" Mrs. Owens asked walking over the pair.

"Can we get some mochi please? And you know the usual serving like always," Brendan said, scratching the back of his head.

"Why certainly Brendan, you too May?"

"Yeah if that's ok," with a quick nod.

"No problem at all you two," Mr Owens said grabbing two large red boxes and cramming as much of the round multi colored sweets into the boxes. He handed them to his wife who handed them to the children. Brendan handed her the money his dad gave him earlier as it came out to be exact amount they needed. He then later handed May her box, giving her a smile. May smiled back, but inside she still wanted to know more about babies.

"Please come again," they heard the old couple say as they exited back onto the main street of the market.

Brendan took out a blue treat handing it to Skipper who began to eat gleefully. May opened her own box, revealing the multi colored round sweets. Automatically her mouth began to water as she took one at ate it in nearly one bite. Brendan had done nearly the same.

"So anything you wanna know about babies?" speaking through a mouthful of mochi.

"Eww, gross chew with your mouth closed," she teased.

He rolled his eyes at her, "looks who's talking."

They both still had that bad habit that would lead them to get scolded by their mothers. They couldn't help but laugh at each other's eating habits, even if they were almost exactly the same.

"Didn't your dad say not to speak of babies anymore?" Taking a pink ball this time.

He eyed her for a second, picking out a yellow ball from the box. "Well yeah, but I can at least tell you a little bit about it, like how your mom's belly will grow as the baby grows inside."

"Wait did she eat the baby?" Slight concern in her voice.

The boy couldn't control his laughter as he began choking on some of the pieces of the sweets. He calmed down after a minute, amusement still in his eyes.

He responded back, "well not exactly May. Let's just say that the baby started out really small and is now growing. You'll see it more once your mom's belly starts growing as well." Handing another ball to his water type.

"So when will the baby come then?"

"I think you should ask your mom for that. I'm not your doctor after all."

The two spent the following hours with Brendan occasionally helping May out with her schoolwork. He had grown quite amused seeing her struggle over what he considered the most simple of problems, but he never said anything to her as he knew she would get mad and besides she was improving.

They parted ways in the late afternoon. May had gotten a significant portion of her schoolwork done as she only needed a couple more pages to finish.

Over the past year, she had grown rather studious. Instead of copying of Brendan's tests like she did in the past, she was learning the information herself determined to get as high scores as him. She really kind of considered that Brendan had an unfair advantage, being the son of Hoenn's regional professor exposed him to all sorts of knowledge that she would never have access to.

She walked up to her mom who was sitting at the couch eating yet another disgusting dish. She tried to ignore her lunch that was threatening to come back up. She had noticed that her belly had grown quite a bit over the past couple of weeks, but it was more noticeable now that she was sitting down.

"So mom," she began, "when is the baby coming?"

Caroline turned to face the girl, a surprised look on her face. She had stopped eating her unusual craving as she put it down on the coffee table.

"Well May, since I'm pretty sure it was obvious, the baby should be coming at around December, or at least that's what the doctor said."

"Actually mom, I asked Brendan about it, since I thought you were sick and he told me you were just having a baby. He also did tell me about the pellipers and was gonna tell me something about a dad inserting something before Professor Birch stopped him."

Caroline's eyes widened. She knew exactly what Brendan was talking about. She was both surprised and impressed at him. Surprised that a boy of that age already knew of the makings of a baby and impressed by it as well. He was certainly mature for his age, or at least he gave everyone that impression.

"I see, then I hope he didn't' teach you too much. I wanna teach you more once you're older," looking directly at May's eyes. The girl merely nodded going to watch the TV.

She then asked, "So will the baby be a boy or a girl?" She really hoped for a girl.

Her mother smiled at her, "that's a secret May," giving the young girl an even wider smile.

* * *

AN: OK time to be honest here. When I did my original drafts for the story, I had no idea that I had left a certain younger brother out of the equation. Maybe I was too focused on the Hoenn pair that I had completely forgotten about him. It was about six chapters in that I realized "Oh crap I completely left him out." So I rushed to check his information to find out he's actually seven, I always thought he was like five. So from there my options were to either rewrite some of the story already posted or just do what I'm already doing here, introducing him or rather foreshadowing the approach of a baby. Hope it doesn't change the anime canon too much since I'm trying to keep this story relatively close to the anime canon, but there will be a couple changes along the way like adding a couple of original ideas.

Also I would like to apologize for all my grammar mistakes in the past chapters. I generally go back and read them a couple times to fix as many mistakes as I can find, but sometimes they just slip by, so my apologies.

Anyway hope you guys enjoy and hopefully I see you all next week!


	9. A New Family Member

Hi everyone and welcome back to chapter nine of this fanfic. This chapter is a bit longer than what I usually write but I hope you guys enjoy. Also thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far!

* * *

Chapter 9: A New Family Member

The sound of loud crying awoke the young brunette girl who was sleeping in the same room her mother was. The reason for her sleeping in their parents room instead of her own was because she was awoken by a nightmare just an hour prior.

She had been getting into dreamland just fine, well until the baby sleeping on the crib decided to wake up the entire town for what was perhaps the twentieth time that night.

Caroline silently picked herself up from the bed in an effort to not wake May up, but she knew that she was probably already awake. She walked over the crib where she gently picked up the baby boy with dark hair, cradling him in her arms. She began calming the baby boy down by singing a melody that she had sung all the time when May was a baby. It was a soothing melody that always seemed to calm the baby down as he quickly stopped crying, going back into peaceful sleep for hopefully the next couple of hours. She gently placed him back down on the crib then silently walked back to the large bed where her daughter was laying and layed back down. She allowed the comfort and warmth of the bed to bring her into dreamland.

May, who had been awake for the past couple minutes, found relief in the peace and quiet again. She slowly closed her eyes allowing sleep to take its embrace as she recalled the events of that fateful day.

* * *

"Mommy, so will the baby be a boy or a girl?" The young girl asked again as she was hanging pink and blue balloons on the chairs of the dinner table. There was a wide array of pink and blue decorations on the table which included: napkins, plates, balloons, party poppers, cups, and even the snacks were in pink and blue colors. Behind her hung a large banner that said "Boy or Girl."

"May I've told you already, it's a surprise, so stop asking," Caroline said entering the room carrying more decorations. Her baby belly had grown quite a bit over the past couple of weeks. If May didn't know better, she would think that the baby was ready to come out.

Although she failed to get much information out of Brendan regarding the makings of a baby, she at least had some basic concept of where babies come from. She know knew for a fact that the pelipper did not deliver babies.

"Mom, I just wanna know if i'll have a little sister or brother," silently hoping for a little sister. She wouldn't mind the idea of a little brother, but to her it seemed like she spent way too much time with a particular brown haired boy to the point where she wanted to have some girl time with someone else that didn't include her mom.

"You'll know when the baby comes May, just be patient ok," she responded, hanging more decorations in the living room.

Norman would have normally been ecstatic at the thought of throwing his wife a baby shower, but due to his line of work he wouldn't be able to attend it.

The sound of the doorbell drew May's attention away from hanging decorations.

"Can you get the door May?" her mother asked going back to the kitchen.

Mrs. Birch had stopped by earlier to give Caroline a hand, but she had left a short while ago to get her gifts for the baby along with her family.

May nodded, walking towards the door where she was greeted by three very familiar faces. Professor Birch stood the right carrying a huge box of diapers. Mrs. Birch stood to the left carrying a white basket full of soaps, shampoos, and towels for the baby. Brendan stood between them carrying a white gift bag with who knows what inside.

"Hello May good to see you again," Mrs. Birch waved at the girl enthusiastically. Brendan waved his own enthusiastic greeting while the professor seemed to be struggling in carrying the enormous diaper box.

Mrs. Birch had forced the two to take the day off saying that they could lighten up after all the fieldwork they had been doing recently.

There was someone that was missing however and it was too late when she finally noticed that a small mudfish pokemon was standing in front of the family.

May knew it was coming, but she was always surprised when it happened. It had already been two years since the small pokemon hatched, yet he still always sprayed her in the face every time they met. Even Professor Birch had tried to stop the pokemon from doing that after Brendan "tried" himself, but the small pokemon refused to let that habit go. It was as if his life depended on it.

The sound of snickering coming from a certain brown haired boy, caused the girl to send him a glare, which only caused him to snicker even louder. At this point, it was like tradition that May would get sprayed in the face, so everyone laughed, except May of course. She was always miserable when her hair got messed up from the water attack, but was glad that she wasn't allowed to wear makeup yet as that would cause her face to look like a purugly. Especially with the expression she was currently wearing.

"Brendan I really hope Skipper stops doing that when he evolves," she complained, already grabbing a towel to dry herself.

"I don't think he will May."

May ushered her neighbors inside, before another pair of guests arrived. This time it was the old Owens couple carrying a large cake box inside. They had also brought their poochyena with them.

Caroline had invited a good amount of people over, but she wasn't sure which would show up or not.

"Brendan, May make sure you two don't eat the entire cake," Mrs. Owens teased.

This caused both children to say in unison, "Of course we won't." Although they had their fingers crossed behind their backs. They just couldn't help themselves when the Owens made a cake. Their cakes tasted like a slice of heaven had fallen into their mouths.

"Welcome everyone," Caroline said as she finished hanging the last of the decorations. Lisa was the first to approach Caroline grabbing her in a hug and handing her the basket full of soaps. Birch followed after, laying the large box of diapers on the ground then giving Caroline a hug. Brendan followed soon after, and like his mother handed Caroline the white gift bag, giving her a hug. The Owens were the next to follow placing the large cake box on the dinner table with each then giving her a hug, congratulating her on the baby.

A couple of more guests arrived later on. Mainly people that run the marketplace along with a couple of neighbors, each bringing with them their own gifts for Caroline and the baby.

Of course May and Brendan had already eaten half of the cake they promised not to eat a lot of once the sun went down, which earned them both playful scoldings from their mothers.

Birch was content in watching the television. He was still slightly sulky that he didn't get to do any fieldwork today.

For the next couple of hours, the guests played a series a game such as the "Dirty Diaper", which was a game similar to hot potato, but instead used a diaper. A rather smelly diaper to be exact. Who knows what was inside of that diaper.

In the end Lisa and Caroline ended up having a dance off where the guests would pick who had the better moves. It was great to see that even though Caroline had gained a significant amount of weight, she still danced like a pro. Lisa on the other hand wasn't throwing in the towel as she showed everyone her moves earning her loud applauses, especially from her husband.

Brendan and May had opted to play their own kiddy games. One of which was pokemon trivia which Brendan unsurprisingly won every time. They then decided to play a couple of board games such as Chutes and Ladders as well as Candy Land, where both children had the same amount of wins.

Now that they thought about it, Brendan and May were the only two children in town at around their age. All the other kids in town were either way too young or way too old which caused the two to mainly socialize with each other and not the other kids. Littleroot Town did have a good number of old couples as well as having a good number of young couples that had decided to settle down in the countryside.

"Thanks everyone for your support," Caroline said waving at the guests who were leaving to return to their homes.

"Good luck Caroline," they waved back. She then closed to the door to find two children who were still playing board games, a mudfish watching closely by, a mother such as herself beginning the clean the mess the party had left behind, and a sleeping father watching television.

"That was quite some party huh Caroline," Lisa said picking up the trash off the table.

"Definitely Lisa, I still got more applause than you in our dance contest," she responded back with.

"Are you deaf Caroline? They were clearly clapping for me."

"Nah Lisa I think the sugar got to your head, those were definitely for me."

The two women kept poking fun at each as they cleaned. Brendan had just won his sixth game of Candy Land while May was at her fourth. They were about to go for another round before they heard, "Brendan, May why don't you guys help us out cleaning this up. We will be done much faster if we work together," Lisa said, stacking a couple of white trash bags.

The two children let out unenthusiastic grunts until Caroline pulled out the remaining of the cake saying, "If you two help, you can have the rest of cake."

At this the two children stood up, grabbed garbage bags and began to frantically fill up bags. Their mouths were watering as they thought of eating more of the heavenly cake.

"Nicely done Caroline," Lisa winked at her neighbor.

Caroline winked back, "Don't you just think they are made for each other?"

"Definitely, we should start planning the wedding," Lisa joked causing the two women to begin laughing. The two children were too busy cleaning up that they didn't seem to notice their mother's discussion.

They had picked up all the garbage leaving the room squeaky clean in record time. Even Skipper had helped out!

He seemed to also love the taste of the cake. The three stacked their garbage bags placing them in the trash can. Caroline shortly handed them large slices of cake, which the two kids proceeded to devour theirs while Skipper ate his slice at a normal pace.

Professor Birch was now snoring as he was sitting on the recliner. He would of slept there for the rest of night if it wasn't for the events that occured in the following hours.

It all began when Caroline gasped. She felt some liquid running down her leg. Having already had a baby, she was familiar with the sensation. She then felt contractions in her lower pelvic region. She leaned against the nearby counter to catch her breath. Lisa who was also in the kitchen noticed this.

She asked, "Caroline is everything alright?"

Caroline was trying to catch her breath, she responded with, "Lisa, I think little Max is ready to come out."

Lisa's eyes widened. She ran back to the living room to wake up her husband. She shook him frantically until his eyes opened. He looked at her with a confused look, but quickly jumped to his feet and ran out the house when Lisa told him to quickly get the car ready to drive Caroline to the Oldale Town Hospital. She also told the two children to get ready to visit Oldale Town.

The two children did as they were told, not questioning what was going on.

Lisa ran back to the kitchen where Caroline was breathing a bit more heavily. She helped her put her shoes on, then helped her walk out of the room and towards the house's front door.

Luckily the two children were already ready to leave when the two mothers entered the room. Brendan had also returned Skipper to his pokeball.

They rushed towards the front door looking on with worried faces. The reassuring smile from Caroline sent a slight pang relief down their spines as they were exiting the home.

Luckily, Professor Birch had already parked the jeep in front of the Maple residence. He got out of the car and helped Lisa to carefully carry Caroline into the backseat of the jeep. Brendan and May followed soon after sitting in the back as well. Once everyone was settled in, Professor Birch began driving towards Oldale Town at full speed. He had promised he would drive more calmly, but to him that still meant driving at a hundred miles an hour in the middle night on a dirt road.

"What's going on mommy is everything alright?" May asked, concern in her voice.

"Everything is alright May, don't worry," Caroline responded.

May just couldn't help but worry, she knew something was going on but she didn't know what.

A familiar feeling on her shoulder told her that Brendan had set his hand on it. "She's alright May, she's just having a baby. I think," he calmly said.

May's eyes widened at the sudden news. Her mom had told her that the baby wouldn't be coming for another couple of weeks, so she was taken by surprise when the baby decided to come now. She was worried, but also excited in seeing her new baby brother or sister. Lisa who was helping Caroline with her breathing pulled out her cellphone to dial Norman's number.

He picked up after two rings.

"Lisa what's up?" he asked. It was late at night, so his voice sounded like he had just gotten out of bed.

"Norman we are taking Caroline to Oldale Town. The baby is coming," she answered back. She thought she heard him falling off his bed and shuffling on his feet.

After a moment he responded with, "Thanks Lisa. I'm on my way to Oldale. Care good care of Caroline for me."

"We will. See you there Norman."

She hung up soon after. She then focused her full attention back on Caroline. She was breathing a bit more heavily now. Brendan and May looked from the side as Caroline had her hand clasped over Lisa's.

They arrived at Oldale town at record time. Almost ten minutes.

The town was pretty empty, with only a couple of street lamps lighting up the roads. There weren't any people out, but the hospital shone over the rest of the town.

Professor Birch parked the jeep in front of the hospital. He quickly got out, opening the door for both Lisa and Caroline. The two children had exited through the other door.

Professor Birch and Lisa quickly helped Caroline into the hospital, where she was quickly guided into a room where she would be taken care of. The two children followed behind their parents and a couple nurses as the mother was being lead to her room. Professor Birch stopped the two telling them that it would be best if they waited outside. After all, seeing the process of childbirth was probably one that they would not like to see even if one of them was already familiar with it after sneaking certain books out of the professor's office.

Both children nodded, although May did a bit reluctantly. She really wanted to know if her mom would really be ok. She knew that she didn't have to worry with all the doctors and nurses around, but she just couldn't help it. This was a first for her.

To make matters worse, sleep was beginning to overtake her. Brendan led her to a set of chairs outside of the room where they both sat.

"Don't worry May, Mrs. Maple will be alright so no need to worry," offering her a smile.

She looked up him then responded with, "I know," before sleep took its toll on the young girl. She leaned against the boy's shoulder as he looked on rather embarrassedly.

Even though he wanted to stay awake for much longer, he could also feel sleep taking its toll on him. It was around eleven at night so it was way past his normal bedtime. He let his eyes slowly close as his head began to lean against his neighbor's.

Inside the room, Caroline's contractions had only intensified. Lisa looked on as the doctor and nurses were helping Caroline with the process. Professor Birch was outside looking after the sleeping children. Norman had arrived around midnight as he came running in his pajamas into the hospital like a madman. He quickly greeted Birch before entering the room where he saw his wife sprawled on the bed during labor. She looked up at him, offered him a bright smile before he walked over to her in an effort to comfort her.

The next couple of hours included the increase of contractions, along with loud grunts and ragged breathing from Caroline. She spent about two hours pushing, as soon as the doctor informed her that it would be the best time to begin. Soon after, the sounds of crying and relieved gasps filled the room.

Max had been born in the early hours of the morning.

* * *

May's eyes slowly opened, the brightness of the white colored hospital walls caused her to close her eyes as if lava had hit them. She opened them again, albeit a bit more slowly this time. She let her eyes adjust for a moment before beginning to glance around. The first thing she noticed was that her head was still leaning against Brendan's shoulder while his head was resting on hers. Normally she would freak out at such close contact, but she felt oddly comfortable around him.

Brendan's own eyes opened and just like May's. He quickly shut them tight from the intense lighting. After a moment he opened them, slowly this time as to not get blinded. He yawned for a moment noticing that his head was resting on May's. Just like her he would of normally found this close contact awkward, but he felt comfortable being so close to her. He slowly removed his head from hers stretching out his neck then his legs and arms. He looked at May who also removed her head from his shoulder, taking some time to stretch out as well. They both heard loud snoring coming from their side as their heads turned around to see the sight of tall brown headed bearded man sleeping peacefully on one of the chairs. They both let out a small chuckle noticing how funny the professor's face looked.

"Good morning May," Brendan started, standing up to stretch his arms and legs again before sitting back down again.

"Morning Brendan," standing up as well to get the sleep out her body.

Lisa walked out the room soon after. She looked like she had stayed up all night and she probably did as there were bags clearly visible under her eyes. She let out a loud, long yawn stretching as well. She spotted the two children sitting next to each other giving them both a wave and a "good morning."

"Morning mom," Brendan was the first to respond with May soon responding with, "morning ."

Lisa looked at her husband who was still sleeping to the side letting out a quiet chuckle as she saw his sleeping face.

"So is my mom alright?" May asked getting back to her feet.

"Oh Caroline is alright. The baby is alright too, so there's nothing to worry about. Your father is also inside."

"Oh that's great!" she exclaimed jumping up in joy. "Can I see them?" she asked.

"It's probably best if we let them rest for a while, it's been a long night. Why don't we go get breakfast?"

"Oh sure," she answered back, slightly saddened that she couldn't see parents and her new sibling.

"By the way Mrs. Birch, was the baby a boy or a girl?"

She looked back with a big smile on her face, "you'll have to wait to see the baby. Caroline made me promise not to tell."

"Come on May," an enthusiastic Brendan said already grabbing her by the hand to go to the cafeteria. She nodded, following after him as Lisa led the way.

The hospital patrons all looked at the children as if they were insane. They were easily devouring all the food placed in front of them. This time May had challenged Brendan again to a eating contest confident that she would win for sure this time. Brendan being Brendan took her challenge again, confident that he would not lose, which was right as he quickly pulled ahead of May's eating. His own stack of empty plates grew to almost twice the size of May's.

"Ha looks like a win again May," .A wide victorious smirk on his face.

"I'll get you for real next time, you'll see," she fired back angrily, mad that she had failed to out eat him again.

"That's what you said last time. If you ask me you'll never be able to beat me in eating." His smirk was growing wider.

This caused May to glare at him which in turn caused the boy to glare back. After a moment of glaring daggers at each other, they began laughing uncontrollably. Lisa looked on with laughter as well as the two children interacted with each other. Professor Birch was approaching the table, sitting down next to his wife, giving her a good morning kiss. This of course caused a "eww" to be heard from both children.

Professor Birch merely smiled back at the two, not bothered at all by the comment they made. He got back up to get a plate of food then sat back down, eating at a pace that would put even Brendan to shame. Now May knew where her neighbor had gotten his eating habits from.

Brendan had witnessed his father eating like that before, although he only ate like that when he was extremely hungry. Sometimes they made a competition out of it with both of them having an equal amount of wins and losses.

Norman was then spotted heading towards their table where sat down soon after the professor had ravenously eaten. The gym leader was still wearing his red pajama pants and long sleeved shirt.

"Daddy why are wearing you pjs?" May asked eyeing her father as if he was crazy.

"Well baby girl, I came here at the middle of the night in a hurry, so I didn't have time to change," taking a large bite of his waffles.

"You look funny in them though," she added, a smile creeping on her face.

Norman let out a small laugh before continuing to eat his waffles. He looked back at his daughter and friends saying, "I'm closing the gym for the rest of the month, I want to spend time with my family."

"That's great Norman, Caroline could really use the support of her husband in times like these," Lisa responded. Birch followed soon after giving his own comment. He was clearly glad he had decided to close the gym as he gave the black haired man a pat on the back.

"So daddy when can we see mom and the baby?" May asked again eyeing her father.

"Let's give your mother and the baby a little bit longer to rest, they really need it."

She gave him a bright smile and a nod. Norman stood up, walked over to her, then messed her hair up before returning to eating his breakfast. This action reminded Brendan that he still hadn't fed Skipper yet. He grabbed at his waist where his lone pokeball lay and let him out. The small pokemon materialized on the table, stretching out his legs. He let out an enthusiastic greeting before, as always, setting his eyes on May and spraying her in the face with water gun. If she wasn't fully awake before, she was now.

Brendan as usual was laughing his butt off while everyone else looked on trying to hide the smiles on their faces. May looked like she was about to explode.

The next couple of hours passed with the two families spending time together. They still hadn't visited Caroline as she was still sleeping, but they would soon. May changed out of last night's clothes as Brendan did the same. The parents then changed out of theirs. Norman was now looking more professional than before as he was wearing his usual attire. They stood outside Caroline's door before opening it revealing the small room.

The room was pretty small only containing a single bed, a counter with a sink to the left, a bedside table, a couple chairs placed along the bed and a television set in front of the bed. The windows were slightly open, letting in some the cool winter air and fluttering white curtains. There lay Caroline wearing a light green hospital gown holding a baby in her arms against her chest. She looked up to be greeted with bright smiles. Norman and May were the first to approach. May nearly threw herself on top of her mother.

"Good morning May, did you miss me?" the mother jokingly asked.

"Yes mommy I missed you, we all did," embracing her mom in a soft hug. She then looked down at the baby in her arms. She noticed that he or she was asleep and was letting out soft small breaths. She also noticed a couple of strands of black hair sticking out of the hat.

"Mommy is the baby a boy or a girl?"

"May the baby is a boy, his name is Max, make sure you take good care of him."

Norman went to step behind May. "How are you feeling honey?" he asked.

"Well for the most part, just some slight pain and discomfort, but I'm sure it'll pass."

Norman nodded embracing his wife in a soft hug. He gently took Max out of her hands, cradling him gently in his arms. May sat down on the table along with Norman. "Want to carry him May?" he asked the young girl.

She nodded placing her arms carefully out so she could hold him. She noticed that he weighed a bit more than she thought he would, but she loved the feeling of holding her new brother.

Brendan had walked up to him observing the baby as well. Skipper was laying on his head. "Congratulations May," he said giving her a bright smile. Skipper let out his own form of congratulations. He jumped from Brendan's head towards Max. He looked at him closely for a second before he tapped his paw softly on his head and let out soft "Mudkip."

"Geez, why does he only seem to hate me?" May asked, shocked that the water type already seemed to be getting along great with her brother despite the fact they had met just mere moments ago.

"It might be a mystery the world may never know," Brendan said, slightly snickering at May's shocked face.

Professor Birch and Lisa came closer, each taking turns in carrying Max. Caroline thanked them for taking care of her while Norman was away and they said that it was something she and her husband would of done too if Lisa was in the same situation. After about an hour, Max was again laying on Caroline's arms. Lisa took out her camera asking everyone to get together for a picture. She placed the camera on the tv stand as everyone gathered together.

May sat to the left of her mother while Norman stood by her right. Brendan was standing next to May with Skipper laying on his head. Professor Birch was also standing next to Norman, wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulders. Lisa pressed the button which would allow her some time to get into the picture before it was taken. She rushed back to stand next to her husband. Everyone had wide smiles on their faces as the camera took the picture.

* * *

An: So finally Max was introduced. I originally forgot to put him when I was writing out my first drafts for this story,but I found this to be a good spot to introduce him even if he will be quite a bit younger than he is in the anime. This will probably also be the longest chapter that I write for this fic unless there's something down the road that requires me write more.

Anyways, Brendan's next pokemon will be introduced soon. Can anyone can a guess on who it will be? Here's a hint: it's a pokemon that was quite significant between Ruby and Sapphire from the Adventures Manga when they were younger, although in my version the circumstances will be substantially different than what they were in the manga.

I really hope you guys enjoyed and I hope to see you all in the next update!


	10. A Mother's Wish

Hi everyone and welcome back to chapter ten of this story. This chapter not only marks the tenth installment of the story but also breaks the 30k word for the story which is longer than anything I've written before. So Yay!

Also a shutout to theiampinaylove who guessed on what pokemon Brendan would be getting this chapter and not exactly getting it wrong (since I actually do plan to give him some of the pokemon you mentioned in the future), but I guess I should of been more specific when it came to my hint so sorry about that. This chapter is also a bit different than what I usually write as it contains some slightly graphic content, but I hope you guys enjoy!

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Chapter 10: A Mother's Wish

The loud sound of an opening door followed by quick heavy footsteps fell into a young boy's room. He had been accustomed to this customary greeting from his father whenever he would be taken on fieldwork trips, but he was always annoyed that his father would choose to go on trips at four in the morning!

The boy was an early riser, but this was just ridiculous.

His father would always say that reason for that was so that they could spend more time working. As his father said, or any early riser said, "the early bird catches the worm."

The boy pulled the covers over his face in an effort to drive his father away, even though he knew this was an ineffective method. Maybe for once he would let the boy sleep in.

 _Maybe this is how May feels when I wake her up early. Now I know how she feels. I should stop doing that…_ he never got to finish his thoughts as Professor Birch pulled the covers off the boy and grabbed him by the legs. He began to pull the boy out the bed as Brendan's hands instinctively latched onto the wooden frame. It had been a regular occurrence between the two males for the past couple of months. If he would of known that his father would wake him up at four in the morning, he would of never agreed to accompany him to his work.

"Come on Brendan we're burning daylight," the professor said still pulling on the boy's legs.

A grunt escaped the boys lips before speaking.

"What daylight? And besides, why must you wake me up at four in the morning? I'm pretty sure even the nocturnal pokemon are asleep," he grunted. He was still grabbing tightly onto the bed-frame.

"You won't be a fine researcher with that kind of attitude my boy," he responded with.

His hands gradually and reluctantly let go of the frame. Although it was the boy's dream to someday become the region's champion, he also wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a researcher. He was gently pulled off the bed where his dad helped him on his feet. He let out a long yawn, stretching his arms out. The boy glanced back at his bed where a certain water type was still sleeping.

 _If I don't get to sleep in, you don't either,_ he thought before gently tapping the water type on the head which caused him slowly open his eyes. He too didn't like the idea of waking up so early.

"Get ready Brendan, I've already cooked breakfast, so come down once you're ready."

"Yeah dad," letting another yawn escape.

His father headed downstairs while the boy sat back down on the bed for a minute. He had on his blue pajama pants and red t-shirt. He glanced to the digital clock on his desk where it read 4:05 AM. He glanced down to the water type who had made his way to lay down on the boy's lap. He blinked for a couple of seconds, trying to rid himself of sleep but it kept coming back.

He tapped the water type again looking him straight in the eye before saying, "you know what to do Skipper, just like May."

The water type nodded releasing a water gun that struck the boy straight in the face. The cool and sudden change pushed the remaining shards of sleep away, vanishing them until the next night.

He shook his head once the torrent had ended. "Thanks Skipper. You really know how to wake people up."

"Mudkip kip," the pokemon responded jumping from his lap and to the floor. The boy shortly stood up and grabbed a change of clothes. His clothes consisted of blue denim jeans, a white long sleeved button up shirt and a pair of white sneakers. He also wore a white lab coat his father had got him when they went on their first trip.

He noticed the white hat May had given him two years prior sitting on his desk. He wanted to wear it, but at the moment it still fit him a bit too big.

He finished changing clothes, then rushed to dry the remaining drops of water from his face, then brushed his teeth. Once that was set and done, he picked up the blue pokemon who was laying on the ground placing him on his head. That spot seemed to be the water type's favorite for some reason.

He walked downstairs to be greeted with the sweet smell of breakfast. Ever since his mother had gotten sick of waking up at four in the morning, his father would be the one to cook breakfast. At first he was terrible, turning every ounce of food into some sort of dark matter that was utterly disgusting. But as time went on, he gradually improved and was able to cook pretty well. Not as good as his mother of course but still pretty well.

"So dad where are we going today?" the boy asked taking a seat in front of a large plate with about ten large waffles. A bowl of Pokemon food was already on the table for Skipper to eat. He jumped down from the boy's head happily eating the brown chunks with berries mixed in.

"There's this creek in route 101 I wanna check out today. There's all types of water types there that we can take data on."

He took a sip out his mug that read _World's Greatest Scientist._ Brendan and Lisa had given him that mug for his birthday that year and he just liked showing it off.

After about ten minutes, Brendan and the professor finished their breakfast placing their dirty dishes on the kitchen sink. Professor Birch grabbed a brown satchel that carried lab supplies, snacks, and files. Brendan picked up his green turtle shell like backpack that carried a greater number of supplies than his dad did.

The reason for this was because the same technology that is used to store pokemon in pokeballs was incorporated into bags. In short, it means that one can carry as much as they want in their bag without it feeling heavy or overfilling. It was like an infinite storage system.

That's how some travelers seemed to pull bikes and tables out of their bags. Brendan could probably carry a mountain in there and it would feel as if he were carrying nothing. This new technology was still pretty new and Professor Birch was given a bag by the league to aid in his research. He of course gave it to Brendan who could make better use of it.

If Brendan remembered correctly, this new technology was developed by a large company in the Sinnoh region that went by the name Diamond. After doing a bit of research, Brendan found out that the company was owned by a single family that also went by the same name. Apparently the family was known in the region for their wealth and power for centuries. Although Brendan didn't pay too much attention to their background, or rather he didn't find much information about their past after a certain point, he did manage to find that the family consisted of multiple members with the current head being married and having a son around Brendan's age and a younger daughter.

His thoughts had come to an end when Skipper had jumped to take his position back on the boy's head. The two walked out the door, turning the lights off as they left. The sun was nowhere near rising once they left the home. Only a couple of street lamps lit the small town. Professor Birch fired up his jeep placing his satchel on the backseat. Brendan had taken a seat on the passenger side. He quickly pulled out the driveway and began driving out of the town.

One would assume that the lack of light would force the professor to drive carefully, but he was driving as if he were in broad daylight. The jeep jumped multiple times as it sped through the dirt path of route 101. It jumped over ditches, skillfully maneuvering around the trees and finally arriving at a small creek where a small waterfall overlooked it.

"Dad how many tickets have you gotten?" the boy to his side asked. Wondering as to how his father drove like a maniac yet never seemed to crash.

"Well son between you and me, and don't tell your mother." The man leaned in to whisper a number in his son's ear.

The boy's eyes widened before he exclaimed, "That many?!"

"Yep my boy, now let's go, we won't find any pokemon if we are lazing around inside," turning the jeep off grabbing his satchel then exiting. The boy was quick to follow behind.

The next couple of hours saw the pair sneaking behind bushes, hiding on trees, and observing pokemon from a distance in order to gain data on their behaviors. They had to observe them from a distance as to not disturb their natural behaviors. Pokemon generally tended to act differently around humans.

The sun was slowly beginning to rise over the horizon bringing with it a cool spring breeze. The light revealed that the cherry blossoms were in full bloom while the other trees displayed their new green leaves after the short winter.

The light of the sun didn't last long as rain clouds began to approach, shrouding the surface of the Earth with their cool shade.

They had managed to collect samples such as wurmple silk, zigzagoon fur, maril furr, as well as poochyena saliva. As well as observing the many types of pokemon that came to the creak.

Brendan had decided to get in a little training in while observing the pokemon. So far Skipper knew tackle, mud slap, water gun, and Brendan had taught the small water type ice beam after a lot of practicing and researching.

He practiced away from the creek so he didn't disturb any of the pokemon that were visiting. Skipper's attacks had gained more power and accuracy over their last training sessions, but he rarely had the time to train his little partner as he would be busy with school or helping his dad out with fieldwork.

It was around lunchtime that the rainclouds from earlier began crackling. Professor Birch was about to call it a day, before a loud combination of a pained cry and roar was heard. Brendan also noticed this. He looked at his dad for answers but he too didn't have any idea of where or what caused the cry.

"Dad, you heard that right?" Brendan turned around to try to spot where the sound came from.

"Yeah I did," the professor whispered. He was just finishing putting the last of the samples inside his satchel.

"Should we check it out? Maybe it's a pokemon that needs help," the boy continued still listening for an indication of the sound. He had grabbed Skipper letting him rest on his head after the training session.

"Let's be careful though. We have no idea who or what is making that sound," the professor said, placing his satchel around his shoulders. The sound of another cry filled the area alerting the two of where the sound came from.

"Dad I think it's coming from over there," he whispered, pointing over to the waterfall.

The two began walking towards it as the dark clouds kept crackling. A minute later the clouds released their cool rain, cooling and seeping the ground underneath. Thunder loudly cracked as lighting lit up the sky. The two hurried to the waterfall where, to their surprise, there was a cave behind it.

They were quick to enter it as a means to avoid the downpour. They were both panting as they entered the cave both from the sudden surprise of the rain and their sprint.

Another cry resonated as the two entered. It didn't sound like a threatening cry, but more like a pained cry as if someone were calling for help. Skipper was the first to notice this as he jumped off the boy's head and ran towards towards the source. Brendan was about to call him back until it sounded like Skipper and another pokemon were having a conversation.

The pair looked at each other as they made their way deeper into the cave. They only had to walk a few spaces where they were met by a surprising sight.

There in the largest part of the cave laid a large blue pokemon with red wings. It had four large legs each containing large claws with a large gray underbelly. The pokemon also had a long neck with a red under neck.

To say that the two were shocked would be an understatement. Never in a million years would they have expected to find a salamence so close to Littleroot of all places. What shocked them more were the large gashes that were bleeding out from the pokemon's legs and belly. It looked as if the pokemon was sitting in a pool of blood. Its breathing was small and ragged, as if it hurt to breath and it looked like it had a foot in the grave.

Brendan was the first to take action, but the professor was quick to stop him as he placed his arm in front of his son in a protective manner. The professor knew that dragon types such as salamence could be aggressive and attack when unprovoked so he had to make sure to be extremely careful.

"Brendan you stay back here while I make sure everything is alright." He received a nod from his son and slowly made his way to the hurt pokemon.

The dragon type picked its head up to growl at the man and the professor froze in place. He moved to lift his arms in front of him to show that he didn't mean any harm.

After a moment of staring at the man and the cries of a mudkip, the dragon type lowered its head back down. The man took a quick deep breath as he made his way closer to the pokemon.

He leaned down to its side to inspect the damage and then motioned for his son to join him as they could get more accomplished together.

Brendan managed a nod as he made his way closer to his father. The pokemon hadn't made any more movements which let a weight off his chest. The pokemon seemed to at least trust them.

The boy put his backpack down and began taking out his medical supplies out once he had sat down next to his father. Professor Birch was quick to follow behind him taking out his own supplies out.

Since Littleroot didn't have a Pokemon Center, the townspeople would often bring injured pokemon to the lab to be treated. Brendan had grown quite accustomed to treating Pokemon wounds, but the problem was that he mainly had knowledge in treating the local pokemon. He was way out of his element in treating the large dragon type.

The professor was also having a difficult time deciding on how the wounds should be approached. Although he did have more experience when it came to treating pokemon, he had never treated a pokemon that was hurt this severely or of this size.

"Here let me help you," Brendan told the dragon type. He tapped it gently on the head once he was sure he wasn't going to get attacked.

"I'll help too Brendan," Birch said once all of his supplies were out. They both nodded and began doing their best in treating the dragon type wounds.

They had applied painkillers as well as antidotes and burn heals to the wounds in case they had been inflicted with poison or burns. Skipper was helping in his own way by filling a hole on the floor with dragon type let out pained cries as the medicine was applied but soon calmed down at Brendan's touch. She drank some of the water from the hole before laying her head back down. The pair then began wrapping all the bandages they had around her injured legs, but there just weren't enough for the large pokemon. They knew that it needed the immediate attention of a pokemon center, but it would be near impossible getting the pokemon out the cave, especially with the wounds.

"Will she be alright?" Brendan asked in a shaky voice.

"I'm not sure my boy, it looks like her wounds are too serious for us to treat," the professor answered, looking away from his son's worried face.

"Can't we call Nurse Joy? There's gotta be something else we can do," he said nearly crying. He had seen pokemon in pain before, but this a completely new experience for him.

"Brendan, I'm afraid Nurse Joy won't be able to arrive in time, especially in this weather," looking equally as disheartened as his son.

"But.. but… we can't just leave her here," he almost yelled.

"Brendan there's nothing more we can do." Although the professor hated to admit it, there really was nothing they could do. He could of always lied to his son about the situation, but he knew that it wouldn't be best.

"Who do you think could of done this dad? This is a salamence we are speaking of."

The professor looked contemplative for a minute, "the large marks tells me that maybe another salamence did it or maybe even pokemon poachers, after all the salamence line are rare finds."

"Say, who did this?" he asked the dragon type who had her head down on the cold cave floor.

She turned her head to face the boy and began to lightly growl and whimper, telling him what had done it.

The boy could only nod as she kept growling.

It was times like these that he wished he could understand pokemon. Her head dropped again with her eyes slowly closing. She lifted up one of her large wings revealing a light blue egg with a gray coloring near the top resting near one of her back legs.

Both the boy and the professor's eyes widened.

Brendan spoke first, "wait you're a mother?"

The nod from the dragon type confirmed this as she raised her head to fully face them, then nodded. This time however her eyes kept staring at them as if analyzing them.

"So she was trying to protect her egg?" Professor Birch asked, still staring at the egg with awe.

After about another minute the dragon type made a move to slowly slide the blue egg towards the boy. He looked up at the dragon type who was giving him a motherly look.

"Wait you want me to take care of your baby?"

The mother's nod caused his hands drop by his side limpy before slowly reaching out for the egg. He slowly grabbed it then handed it to his dad as he was taking out a blue blanket from his bag then wrapping it around the egg so it could stay warm.

"Don't worry I'll take good care of it," he said in a shaky voice. The mother seemed to give him a smile before her head slowly fell down to the ground. This time however her eyes closed and her breathing ceased. They knew that she had passed away. Her final wish was for her baby to be in good hands.

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An: When I was working on my drafts for this story, I wanted to incorporate the salamence story line from the manga in some way or another. Since many other authors have already written about Brendan(Ruby) and salamence, I wanted to try something different which lead me to this idea. I hope I didn't make anyone mad with this change and if I did then please forgive me.

Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed and I hope to see you guys at the next update. Next chapter will have more interactions between family members and our Hoenn pair.


	11. I Miss You,Kinda

Hi everyone and welcome back to chapter eleven of this story. Nothing really special happens this chapter as it has gone back to the usual slice of life, Hoennshipping teasing, cute moments of before. As always hope you guys enjoy!

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Chapter 11: I Miss You, Kinda

The lack of noise in the house was what surprisingly woke the young brunette girl up. Normally she would already be getting yelled at by her mother for waking up late again on a school day while trying to calm down the crying baby in her arms. If it wasn't her mother bugging her then it was her neighbor obnoxiously trying to wake her up by throwing things at her window. At one point he had even gotten a trumpet and blew it in front of her window when his usual attempts failed. She had immediately fallen off the bed on that day and she understood why he blew it when she saw her clock. They were gonna be late for school again.

Brendan had told her that the next time she made them late for school, he would light fireworks in her room. She of course doubted this, although part of her was afraid that he was serious.

At this point, even with the lack of noise, her body had gotten accustomed to waking up at this time even when there wasn't any school. She stared at the her beige ceiling for a couple minutes recalling the events that occurred in the past couple of days.

Not much had really happened if she was being honest. Just the usual day to day schedule when it came to school. Her mother and neighbor waking her up in the morning, the drive to Petalburg, enduring the boring lectures of her teachers, the godlike lunch time, and visiting the her father's gym with her neighbor after school when Professor Birch didn't need him.

Over the past couple of weeks Brendan always seemed to be needed by his dad. After school he would be picked up by his father and driven to who knows where to do research. The Petalburg residents always looked at the professor's car with caution in case the man crashed into something.

She had spent the last couple of days or rather weeks mainly by herself with the occasional company of her mother and younger baby brother. It's not to say that she didn't enjoy their company, but she didn't have as much fun with them as she normally did with her neighbor. She especially didn't have much fun with Max as he seemed to cry whenever May entered the room. Perhaps there was something about her that he didn't like, or he was just messing with her like younger siblings do. Her mother always seemed to be tired as well.

Well, she decided to not ponder in her thoughts any longer as she crept out of bed then went to the restroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She had noticed that her front two top teeth had finally grown in and when she spotted Brendan smiling, his teeth had also grown in. Neither of them had that goofy toothless expression that they were so used to seeing and May was partially happy about it. Happy that Brendan wouldn't tease her anymore but sad that she couldn't tease him about it either.

She decided to keep on her usual pink pajamas on, as she wasn't really planning on anywhere today nor was she meeting anyone other than her family. She walked downstairs to be greeted with the heavenly smell of bacon and pancakes. Her mother seemed to have cooked breakfast a while ago as all the dirty pans and dishes were already in the sink. There sat Caroline with a raven haired baby boy feeding him his bottle.

When May entered the room, Caroline looked up from her baby's face to greet May. "Good morning," she spoke in a somber tone. Upon closer inspection May noticed the bags underneath her mom's eyes. She probably hadn't had another decent night of sleep.

"Good morning," she responded with.

She headed to towards a plate that was placed on the counter filled with breakfast foods. May didn't need to be told that this was her plate as the abnormally large serving practically had her name written on it. She had never met another person that ate like she did, well aside from Brendan of course and occasionally Professor Birch.

She poured herself a glass of orange juice then sat on table ready to have her breakfast. She ate at a ravenous pace not caring that her mother would probably scold her again. When she didn't get a scolding she looked up to see her mother slowly closing her eyes, she realized that her mother was probably too tired to scold. She made a mental note to not have a baby when she was older.

"So mom how did you sleep?" she asked while still eating ravenously.

Her mother looked up for moment, staring at the girl before responding with, "not too well, little Max here always seems to time his cries perfectly. Everytime when I was going into deep sleep he would wake me up."

"That's why I don't have a baby when I grow up," she sassily responded.

This caused her mother to raise an eyebrow at her, "May don't say that, I bet the perfect man is out there just waiting for you. If you ask me, I think you've already met him and you would be more than happy to start your own family."

She seemed to take savage delight out of seeing her daughter's embarrassed face.

"Mo-mo-mom don't don't stay stuff like that," stuttering as her face burned even redder. She realized that she had said the wrong thing to her mother as she took the perfect opportunity to embarrass her.

She gained her composure a second later. She crossed her arms and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Her mother merely gave her a wink before little Max decided to cut in the conversation with his loud crying.

"Oh dear, maybe you need a diaper change," Caroline said, standing up heading towards her room to get the boy a new diaper. May let the words her mother said ring her head as she was alone in the room. She knew who her mother meant when she said May had already met her soulmate, but for crying out loud they were too young for that. Besides it seemed like Brendan was too busy helping his dad lately. May had barely even seen him over the past weeks. Part of her yearned for his company yet part of her was afraid of these feelings.

Her mother had come back into the room to interrupt her thoughts, she threw the old diaper away with one hand while the other was carefully holding the boy. "May why don't we see that tv show you like so much, you know the one about the blond twins living in the huge hotel with their mother."

Mays face lit up once again. She absolutely loved that tv show and she was getting to watch it with her mother again. They had seen a couple of episodes together in the past, but with Max around her mother's attention was never solely focused on the show. Sometimes May wished she was still a only child.

They sat down in front of the tv where the show was being aired in the later hours in the morning. This episode featured the hotel manager teaching the daughter of the owner how to drive a car.

Her mother let out a breathy laugh saying, "The PRNDL, I never thought to call the gear shift that." May only smiled seeing her mother's happy face. She had been looking rather glum over the past couple days. Having a baby was sure a chore.

When the show ended, Caroline flipped the channel to show the image of a black haired boy that was maybe a year or two older than May playing the piano. May slightly wrinkled her nose at the sudden change of chanel but her eyes soon widened as the boy continued playing the piano. There was also the fact that there were three pokemon around the boy that were creating brilliant displays by using their abilities to the beat of the song.

From what May could see, there was a small blue bird pokemon with cotton wings. She also noticed a small gray catlike pokemon with large purple eyes as well. But the pokemon that caught her attention the most was a small brown and green hedgehog like pokemon with leaf spikes around the head.

The three pokemon worked together in perfect harmony to the boy's music so they created a brilliant display of grass, psychic and flying attacks.

"Wow May you really seem to like what you're seeing," her mother said once she noticed her daughter caught in a trance at the sight.

"Yeah," she managed. Her eyes were still watching the performance. When the boy ended playing his song, he stood up and walked in front of the piano along with his three pokemon where all four bowed. The auditorium was soon met with loud applause.

"Wow mom that was beautiful," May said. She was also clapping after seeing the performance. "What was that mom?" she asked a moment later.

"I'm not too sure myself May. All I know is that that boy wanted to become a pokemon performer, but due to the Kalos region not hosting contests and the Pokemon Showcase only allowing girls to compete, he began doing his own performances using techniques from contests, showcases and his own music."

"Wow, maybe I can do that when I'm older," May muttered so that only she could hear.

After a moment she asked, "mommy do you think I can see Brendan today, I miss him," she spoke in a soft voice. Her mother stopped her calmed expression as smirk grew on her face. This scared May.

"I don't know May. Professor Birch has been really busy lately and I'm sure Brendan is helping him out as well," seeing her daughters distraught face she added, "well we can stop by their house later on to see how they're doing." May nodded happily and returned to watching the television. She really hoped that he was there.

* * *

Around mid afternoon, May was up and ready to go to her neighbor's house. She was wearing jean shorts along with a red blouse and her mother had taught her how to tie her red bandana into a bow. Her mother looked equally ready for the visit as she she was wearing a knee-length white skirt and a red t-shirt. She also carried around the stroller which was carrying Max around.

"Come on May," the mother spoke, already halfway through the door with the stroller. May followed close behind as her mother closed the door and locked it. They walked the short distance to their neighbors house where Lisa was outside tending her to her vegetable garden. She looked up wiping the sweat off her brow when she noticed the three walking towards her.

"Oh, good afternoon you three, what brings you here?" She stood up to dust her hands off giving them all a warm smile.

"May here just wanted to see if Brendan was home," Caroline smirked with a wink towards Lisa.

Lisa gave Caroline a smirk before she spoke again, "sorry May but Brendan is not home at the moment. He did say he would arrive soon. Edward gave him the rest of the day off and he's just running a couple errands for me. You're more than welcome to come inside and have some lemonade."

May's face lit up at her statement, after not seeing her good friend for days she was finally getting to see him again. "Yes, thanks Mrs. Birch," she responded with. Mrs. Birch led them to their door where they all took their shoes off and she motioned for them to take a seat on the living room couch.

Caroline and May took their seats on opposite sides of couch while Caroline pulled the stroller to her side and pulled Max into her arms. Lisa came in a couple moments later, carrying a tray with glasses of lemonades and some chocolate chip cookies.

May eyed the cookies like a mandibuzz eyeing prey. She adored Mrs. Birch chocolate chip cookies to the point she claimed they were the best in the world.

Lisa placed a tall glass in front of each guest and set the large plate of cookies in the center for them to eat. She then sat down with her glass on the recliner as the two mothers began to discuss while May stuffed her face with the chocolaty goodness.

"How's little Max treating you Caroline?" Lisa asked taking a cookie from the tray.

"Well you know as baby would. Sometimes I wish they would grow up, but when they do grow up you wish they didn't," Caroline responded with, laughing slightly as she held Max closer.

"I know what you mean Caroline. Sometimes I see that Brendan is growing maybe a bit too fast, and I wish I could stop time to spend more time with my little boy," looking down at her glass.

Caroline let out a soft laugh before commenting, "sometimes I see that May grows up a bit too slow, I sometimes wish she took lessons from Brendan on how to grow up faster."

May stopped eating her cookie at her mother's remark. She fired back a loud, "Mom!"

Caroline's smile grew wider and she said, "I'm just kidding May, I love you just the way you are."

May calmed down before she said, "I really love your cookies Mrs. Birch, they're the best in the world."

"Oh stop it May, you're making this little housewife blush," holding her hand to her cheek to cover her blushing cheeks.

They kept discussing for a couple more minutes before Lisa suggested to May that she head up to Brendan's room. She said she could read some of his books or play some of his games if she wanted to. She also said that he would be arriving soon so she didn't have to worry about being up there alone for too long.

May accepted the offer and headed upstairs to his room. She had noticed that his room was slightly different than the other times she had been in it. His bookshelves were still crammed with books with an abundance of pokemon knowledge. His large snorlax bean bag still lay on the blue rug. His bed still had the same blue and white colored sheets and comforter on it, but when she looked around she saw that there was an abundance of pokedolls present all over the room. She guessed that perhaps the boy was no longer embarrassed of them and began displaying them in his room.

The Kanto starters lay on top of his small bookshelf while the Johto starters laid on the tv stand not obstructing the view of the television. When she walked over to his desk, she noticed that the Hoenn starters were lined up in one of the shelves on his desk. She wrinkled her nose at the mudkip she had given him two years ago obviously reminding her of Skipper. She noticed the small orange chick pokemon in the middle and the green wood gecko pokemon placed to the right. She took her attention away from the plushies to spot, in clear sight, the form of an egg placed inside its incubator which was placed on top of the desk.

She noticed the light blue color and gray layer near the top. She also noticed the open book on the table that was opened on a page of a Pokemon called "Bagon". She thought to herself that perhaps that was the pokemon inside the egg.

 _I really hope it's not another mudkip, I don't think I can handle two water guns_ , she thought with a small feeling of dread.

Downstairs the front door opened revealing a brown hair boy wearing his usual research clothes, but this time he was wearing a black necktie. His father had told him it would of make him look more professional. His water type was laying on his usual spot.

"I'm home," he said, taking his shoes off and carrying a white shopping bag to the living room where his mother was.

"Oh Brendan welcome back. Did you find everything on the list?" Lisa asked as Brendan was giving her the bag.

"Yeah mom," he said. He noticed the plate of chocolate chip cookies and quickly grabbed some. He noticed a second later that their neighbor was there. He stopped for a second and said, "Hi Mrs. Maple good to see you, and you too Max," waving at the pair enthusiastically.

"Hi Brendan," Caroline waved back. She noticed his attire and said, "my don't you look dashing wearing that. You look like a little scientist."

"Thanks Mrs. Maple," he responded with, his hand rubbing the back of his head while lightly blushing.

"Brendan, May is in your room, why don't you go up and give her a little scare?" his mother teased.

A sly grin grew on face and so did on Skipper's face. "Sure thing mom, just let me get a couple more of these. You make the best cookies," taking a handful a cookies with him and handing one to his pokemon.

"Oh stop it Brendan, you're making me blush," she said, again gushing at the compliment. Caroline lightly laughed behind them.

Brendan headed upstairs where he noticed his door was slightly ajar. He motioned to Skipper to quiet down by placing a finger over his mouth. He slowly opened the door and saw a familiar brunette girl staring near the egg he had gotten from a mother salamence a week prior. A pain rose to his chest as he remembered the scene, but he soon replaced it with a sly smirk as he quietly and skillfully(might he add) walked over to the girl. The girl didn't seem to notice his presence as she was looking at the egg and the open book, silently hoping that it wasn't another mudkip.

He reached his hands out to swiftly grab her shoulders and yelled a loud "BOO!" This of course caused the girl to jump up in fright letting a loud scream escape her lips.

"GYAA DON'T HURT ME!" she cried out. When she noticed a certain brown haired boy on the floor clutching his stomach in laughter she knew there was nothing wrong. She also noticed that a certain nightmare of hers was also laughing at her couldn't decide if she felt angry or relieved.

"Brendan why must you always do that?" she asked once the boy calmed down and her breathing returned to normal.

"Because it's so funny seeing your reaction May, you always know how to make me laugh," wiping away a tear from his eye. He stood up shortly after leaving Skipper on the floor. Apparently he had decided that May had enough teasing as he didn't spray her this time even though May already had her arms protectively in front of her face in preparation of the attack.

She noticed that she wasn't going to sprayed, so she let her arms down while letting out a relieved sigh. She looked at the boy who had now calmed down and asked him, "So how's working with your dad?"

He stopped for a second then said, "well it's been really busy. We've had six trainers this week come in for their starters. Dad was busy at the moment so he let me and Joshua to take care of the pokemon and their trainers. But other than the mass organization I do for my dad it's been fun." He offerred her a bright smile.

"I see that's good. By the way when did you get the egg on your desk?" pointing over to the blue egg. Skipper had made his way over to the bed where he jumped up and appeared to be taking a nap.

Brendan looked hesitant for a minute, before he finally spoke up. "Dad and I took a fieldwork trip last week where we found the egg." He didn't want to reveal the full details of the mother salamence as he thought that would scare May. He also didn't like to bring up the thought.

She looked at him for a moment as if she was analyzing if he was lying. He didn't seem to be so she continued, "so do you know what pokemon is inside. I hope it's not another stupid mudkip-". She never got to finish her sentence as a torrent of water struck in her face. At this point she should of known that Skipper doesn't like it when May calls him stupid, although his actions only strengthened May's negative views of the mudkip line.

Again she found Brendan on the floor laughing at her misery. She glared daggers at the water type while he looked pleased with himself. She already knew where to go when this happened, so she headed towards the bathroom where she pulled out a white towel and began drying her hair and face. Brendan had calmed down enough by the time she entered the room again.

He said with laughter still coating his voice, "don't worry May, it's not another mudkip. Although I would avoid calling the pokemon inside stupid or you might get a dragonbreath to the face."

 _Oh thank Arceus. I'll make sure that the Pokemon inside doesn't hate me. I don't think I can take more attacks to the face._

"Hey May," she heard. She turned her face to face the boy who was already holding two video game controllers. "Bet you can't beat me," he said giving her his smirk.

"You're on Brendan. Even though I've lost every time since the first, this time will be different," moving to take a controller from his hands.

"You said that last time, and the time before that," he drily responded. She stuck her tongue out at him not wanting to fall for his bait. He laughed for a second then sat next to her on the large Snorlax bean bag in front of the television set.

 _I finally get to spend some time with him_. _I'm so happy,_ she thought as the two played for the next couple of hours.

Downstairs, their mothers were looking through a catalog of traditional wedding kimonos while giggling at each other.

* * *

An: Mothers are just the world's biggest shippers huh. Just so you guys know, Lisa and Caroline are both partially based off my own mom. When I was growing up, my mom always had the bad habit of shipping me with any girl my age.

I think it will be a good idea for me to start putting the age of our main pair at the end of the chapter since there will be more time skips in future chapters and remembering their ages can be a bit confusing at times.

Brendan-8

May-8

Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed and I hope to see you again in the next update!


	12. Cooking and Dragons

Hi everyone and welcome back to chapter twelve of this fanfic. As the title may suggest the egg will be hatching and we get to see the pokemon that's inside. Also a shutout to TheLoneHero17 for catching the Suite Life reference in the last chapter. Maybe you'll catch another reference this chapter. As always hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 12: Cooking and Dragons

True as daylight, the books were not kidding when they said that dragon types take the longest to grow and hatch. The brunette boy had been rather skeptical when his Pokemon Eggs book stated that bagon eggs can take anywhere from six to nine months to hatch depending on the conditions.

Apparently this long hatching time was due to dragon types needing proper development inside their eggs for them to effectively develop their strengths in the future.

There was no way of telling how old the egg was. Perhaps the egg had been laid months prior to the boy being given it, or perhaps it had been laid right before he was given it.

Just like in Skipper's case, the boy knew that he couldn't rush the hatching process. He could however make sure that the egg was in good condition at all times by maintaining the temperature and moisture in the incubator and by cleaning the shell regularly.

The first month passed rather uneventfully. The egg didn't make any movements or noises, nor did it give any indication that it was close to hatching. The second month passed quite the same. He had come to the conclusion that the egg was most likely laid right before he was given it, although he could still be wrong and the baby inside was just lazy.

With the coming of the third month, marked the end of another school year and another start to the blaring Hoenn summer. The third month also marked a bit more movement from the egg as it would shake once in a while but it would soon subdue.

By the time of the fourth month, the egg was moving at regular intervals but it didn't make any sounds meaning it could still be quite a ways away from hatching.

The fourth month also marked the beginning of July which marked the boy's ninth birthday. Just three more years and he and May would graduate from their school and begin their journeys as trainers. That of course only if his dad didn't keep him locked up in the lab for a longer period of time. The man was honestly so accident prone that sometimes Brendan wondered how his father hand't gotten himself killed while doing fieldwork.

The birthday this year was like the ones from previous years. The Maples along with a couple of the townspeople came. This year his mother had decided to serve hamburgers for the guests. May, like always, had challenged the boy to a eating contest hoping that once and for all she could beat him.

She did beat him, kind of. She would of beaten him fair and square if she hadn't cheated her way through by telling the boy things that would make him loose his appetite. Apparently a not so pleasant experience with a tentacruel earlier that day was all May needed to tell the boy.

She had already eaten ten hamburgers while the boy had eaten nine and he would of eaten more if it wasn't for May. May however didn't care as she claimed victory over him for the first time since they met. May celebrated this by having an extra large slice of heavenly cake that the town's bakers had made. Honestly they just couldn't get enough of it.

May had also given Brendan a black bandanna with a red pokeball design similar to the one Brendan had given her for Christmas almost three years ago. He tried putting it on only to fail miserably.

May laughed before she taught him different ways to put it on. After all her mother had taught her how to fold bandannas in many different styles.

After teaching Brendan a couple of styles on tying the bandanna, he settled for folding it into a headband. It mainly covered his forehead and his temples while tying it in a small bow to the side of his head. May thought that it made him look cute, but of course she would never tell him that out of the sheer embarrassment that she would feel and he would probably also feel.

Brendan was left with the dilemma of picking out a birthday gift for May's upcoming birthday.

* * *

Professor Birch decided to give Brendan a day off. Well it was more like Lisa had forced him to give their son the day off. She claimed their son hadn't been spending as much quality time with her. She said that he had been getting too much father son time and needed some mother son time.

May had also decided to visit on that day.

The three were in the kitchen, where Lisa was teaching the kids how to make a delicious meal. Brendan was wearing a dark blue apron while May was wearing a bright red one. Lisa wore a white apron as well as a chef's hat as if she were an actual chef, which she actually was since she used to work at a fine dining restaurant as a chef before she met Professor Birch.

She would often remind the two, well more Brendan, how Professor Birch came in that day to her restaurant after what appeared a long day of fieldwork. How he had enjoyed his meal to the point where he wanted to meet the chef behind the masterpiece. How she followed one of the waiters to his table and when their eyes met, it was like a hoard of beautiflys were dancing in their stomachs. How they looked deep into each other's eyes and knew they were meant for each other.

"And that kids is I met your father," she repeated again for like the tenth time during their cooking session.

"Mom you've told me that story like a hundred times before," the boy said holding a whisk and beating the eggs. Lisa gave her son a look.

"I think it's really cute Mrs. Birch," May said while kneading the dough.

"See Brendan, at least someone appreciates it," the housewife gushed holding her hands to hide her light blush.

The boy just rolled his eyes returning his attention to dish at hand. The dish had some weird Kalosian name, but his mom had promised them it would be delicious.

"Let's see the book here says-" he was cut off by his mother.

"Brendan forget what the book says. The book doesn't know what it's talking about, so just follow what I say," holding the utensils as she began working on her own ingredients.

Brendan who was so used to doing everything by the book argued back, "but mom the book here says to specifically beat the eggs not... well do whatever it is you're doing." The boy wasn't familiar with cooking terms so he had no idea what to call whatever his mother was doing. It all looked like she was making some sort of magic potion to him.

"Brendan just follow a mother's intuition, it will be a good experience for you to not always follow the book. Besides I've made this dish hundreds of times before so it should be alright," she said back. Very quietly she muttered so that only she could hear herself, "I think." It was actually her first time with this particular dish, but the children didn't have to know.

The boy not wanting to argue any further did what his mom said. After about another hour their dish was ready and they could only ogle at it. It turned out a lot better than expected, but appearances can be deceiving.

"Mrs. Birch is it supposed to taste like burnt rubber?" May asked trying to hide her look of disgust.

"Told you we should've followed the book mom," Brendan quipped, a similar look on his face.

Well Lisa was obviously embarrassed, but she of course would never admit she was wrong, especially when she prided herself in her cooking. She answered back, "yes kids it's supposed to taste like that," tasting the dish with a similar disgusting look appearing on her face though she tried to hide it. The kids raised an eyebrow not buying her show before she quickly changed the subject with "why don't we order pizza?"

May and Brendan's let go of their skeptical looks in favor of having pizza. They soon cleaned the kitchen tossing out their disaster of a dish into the garbage before Lisa grabbed the phone and ordered pizza for them to eat. The marketplace held a small pizza joint where the townspeople would normally get their pizza from. They even delivered!

Brendan and May had removed their aprons and went to the living room where a certain water type was napping on the couch. He had already sprayed May when she first arrived, so he was content with just sleeping at the moment. He however he kept his ears and mind open in case the brown haired girl had anything to say about him, he would be ready to retaliate.

"Isn't he just the cutest May," the boy said pointing towards the sleeping form of the water type.

 _That little devil is in no way cute,_ she thought. She knew that if she actually said that, she would be met with another gun so she responded with, "yeah Brendan he's just the cutest," with a fake smile.

The boy looked at her with a teasing smile before grabbing the remote and turning on the tv. After about ten minutes of arguing about what to watch, they decided to watch the tv show about a teenage girl that sometimes had psychic visions of the future and the hilarity that ensued when trying to make said visions come true. Shortly after the pizzas arrived allowing them to gorge themselves in its cheesy goodness.

Lisa meanwhile was still moping about her failure at the dish but was glad she spent some quality time with her son. Perhaps she should have more of these "Cooking with Lisa Birch" sessions with him, and next time she will follow the book, even though she believed a mother's intuition would always be better than following a book.

The sun was setting when May decided to head home. She thanked Mrs. Birch for her cooking lesson and said she would see Brendan later. He waved at her as she was leaving. Once they saw that she entered her own home the mother and son pair went back inside.

"So mom. Was the dish actually supposed to taste like that?" the boy asked raising an eyebrow.

"Between you and me," she began quietly, "no, not at all. I'll make sure to follow the book next time."

He gave her a warm smile before he said, "guess we won't be making that mistake again."

She looked at him then gave him a warm smile, smiling at her own mistake.

Brendan went back to the living room where Skipper was still sleeping. He let out a soft sigh before gently picking him up carrying him upstairs. When he arrived he found that the egg was slightly shaking while letting out a couple of cries. He set Skipper gently on the bed before walking over to his desk where the egg laid. Perhaps the baby was going to hatch soon.

He removed the glass casing right before it started growing brightly. The light lit up the room. The light soon faded revealing a small pokemon with a light blue body, short stubby hands and legs, a yellow underbelly and a what seemed to be a large gray helmet.

The boy stared at the small pokemon for a minute before deciding to introduce himself. "Hi I'm Brendan nice to meet you," extending his hand for the pokemon to shake. The dragon type stared at his hand for a minute before giving it a bite.

"Youch!" he exclaimed pulling his hand away like he had touched hot coals. He stared at it for a second noticing the bite marks before he said, "guess you're hungry then. Here I'll take you downstairs to eat." He gently grabbed the dragon type and carried him in his arms.

Skipper who had been watching from the bed couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. He was jealous that his trainer now had another pokemon, so his attention would no longer be solely placed on the water type. The water type was jealous that he would now only get a fraction of the attention he used to get. He wasn't going to stand for it. He jumped off the bed following behind his trainer. He tapped his leg to get his attention before he exited the room. His trainer looked down noticing the expression on the mudfish's face before he lowered himself down allowing the water type could climb onto his head. The water type seemed to now be content.

He walked downstairs noticing that his mother was sitting at the dinner table reading a cookbook. She looked up to see her son's new pokemon in his arms. She stood up and walked towards him. "Hi little one," she said extending her hand out like her son before did. Much to her surprise she too was bitten.

"Youch!" she exclaimed quickly pulled her hand back. "Brendan did you train him to that?" she asked while examining the bite marks on her hand.

"Nah I think he's just hungry, he also bit me as well," he said as he was pulling out cans of pokechow and berries for the pokemon. He laid a bowl out for his new partner as well for Skipper who was more than happy to eat his fill.

"Well he sure can eat, and he has a strong bite," Lisa commented. "Have you thought of any names?" she asked a moment later.

"Well I have thought of a couple, I'll have to see which one he likes most," placing his hand on his chin to look contemplative.

As soon as the two pokemon finished eating, the boy leaned down to look at his new pokemon that seemed satisfied with a full belly. "Would you like to join my team?" he asked, holding out an empty pokeball. The pokemon stared at the boy for a minute before giving out a quick nod. This caused the boy to smile and tap the pokeball on the dragon type's head. The ball opened up sucking it in and it shook in his hands three times before clicking indicating a successful capture. He smiled at the ball then let the dragon type back out so the boy could give him a name.

"Now we gotta think of a name for you." He paused for a second looking contemplative before he asked, "how about Fafnir?"

The dragon type shook his vehemently like he hated the name.

"Well what about Ryu then?" This time the dragon type stared at the boy for a second before shaking his head not liking the name.

"Oh I know," he said running back to his room to grab a book. When he came back down he opened it to a page revealing a tall old man with a sailor jacket on and a sailor hat. Behind him stood a large salamence. He showed the page to the small dragon type and he stared at it with awe.

"This is Drake, one of the region's elite four. An elite four is a crazy strong trainer that one must defeat in order to become champain. This guy here is a dragon master and his signature pokemon is a salamence which is what you will be when you evolve. So what do you say, you want to be called Drake?" a large smile present on the boy's face. This time the pokemon nodded and gave out a soft growl. "Great to have you on the team Drake," Brendan exclaimed giving the dragon type scratches underneath the neck earning soft delightful coos from him.

"I wish dad were here to see this," the boy spoke and as if by sheer coincidence the front door opened and a "I'm home" was heard. Brendan took to his feet carrying Drake in his arms.

"Dad dad!" He called out. "The egg hatched and I named him Drake," he exclaimed in excitement. Professor Birch was briefly taken aback from the outburst but it changed to excitement when he saw his son's excited eyes and the new pokemon in his arms.

"Whoa Brendan, he's a cute little guy isn't he?" holding his hand out to pet the dragon type, but unfortunately like the two people before, the dragon type bit down on his hand. "Youch!" he exclaimed pulling his hand back. He looked at his son's amused face and knew that his son had somehow something to do with the behavior.

"Did you train him to do that Brendan?," he asked slightly annoyed while inspecting his hand.

"Nope, that seems to be the way the greets new people."

"Well just make sure he doesn't bite like that when he's a salamence".

"Don't worry dad I'll take care of it."

The professor raised in eyebrow as he remembered the last time his son said he would take care of something and it never got solved. To be honest he had also tried to take care of it, but it didn't have any effect on the pokemon as he still kept doing it every time a certain brunette girl met his eyes.

After spending a couple of minutes at the dinner table of discussing with his dad the attributes of the dragon type, the boy decided to give him a bath. He walked upstairs where he filled a small green tub with warm water and placed the dragon type inside. Skipper on the other hand was beginning to tug on the boy's clothes and motioning for the bathtub. He gave the water type a smile before he filled the bathtub up and placed Skipper inside.

Drake seemed to be enjoying the warm water as he was laying down on the tub seeming to have the time of his life. Brendan quickly joined Skipper inside the bathtub where they began splashing each other like they always did. They soon dried themselves off with Brendan dressing in his pajamas ready to go to bed.

The following day a string of "youchs" and "ows" were heard as Brendan introduced everyone in town to Drake.

There was no louder "youch" that day than the one that came from May. She was convinced that all the boy's Pokemon's were the devil's spawn.

Well at least she wasn't getting a dragonbreath to the face.

* * *

An: Salamence is actually one of my favorite dragon types. I remember searching all over Hoenn when I was playing Pokemon Sapphire like 10 years ago looking for a bagon and finally finding one in Meteor Falls. For this story I just wanted to give Brendan a bagon since I just love the pokemon. As usual here are our pairs ages:

Brendan- 9

May- 8

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and hope to see you guys again in the next chapter. Also hope everyone is having a great Spring Break!


	13. Little Max and a New Friend

Hi everyone and welcome to chapter thirteenth of this story. As the title of this chapter may suggest, this chapter will give Max a bit more spotlight while also giving another character that was present in the games but not the anime a bit of time as well. Also a shutout to TheLoneHero17 for guessing the That's to Raven reference last chapter! Also a big thanks to everyone who has read and I hope you keep enjoying my little stories!

* * *

Chapter 13:Little Max and a New Friend

It had been well over a year since little Max was born. He now cried a lot less than he used to and didn't wake up the entire town anymore which relieved everyone living in the Maple home. May had also noticed that her baby brother was now more active than before. He was also becoming more social. This new behavior was probably due to the fact that he had already mastered crawling and was nearing his first steps. Perhaps his first words would come soon as well.

Caroline had made a habit of always grabbing her camera in a hurry when it looked like Max was about to take his first steps. When May inquired as to why she did that, Caroline answered that she wanted to preserve the moment for a lifetime. She had also pulled out an old tape that showed May awkwardly taking her first steps when she was just a little a baby. The brunette girl couldn't help but smile at her clumsy self as she stepped onto her feet for the first time. That smile soon faded as Caroline shortly after showed May pictures of her as a baby that should not see the light of day.

May was actually becoming pretty accustomed to babysitting her little brother. At first she struggled to get him to eat and nearly vomited the first time she had to change a diaper, but now she did those actions almost effortlessly. She remembered the face Brendan had made when May insisted he change Max's diaper. He looked at her like she was crazy before giving in to his neighbor's request.

"I shouldn't have kids," he said as he was laying on the couch that day. His forearm was placed over his eyes in exhaustion. Sure Brendan had dealt with babies before, but those were pokemon babies not human babies. He told May there was a large difference.

May could only laugh at the face he was making. Max had decided for an extra stinky diaper and Brendan was the one to change it. He then later complimented May when he saw her do it almost effortlessly. He said that she would make a great mother and the girl's face shone a bright red before turning her attention back to her baby brother. Perhaps she would have Brendan change more diapers as payback for always teasing her and maybe payback for always beating her in video games.

As another end of the year approached so did the holiday season. This year the two families decided to hold their celebrations in the Petalburg gym as it provided more space than their homes. They set up the large Christmas tree in the gym's lobby; taking their time to decorate it. It looked perfect, well it did until little Max decided to start taking the decorations off. By the time it was actually Christmas, the bottom half of the tree lacked decorations while the top was well decorated. Max really liked pulling those decorations off.

The little boy couldn't walk yet, but he could still make his way over to the tree by crawling and then use the branches as supports.

The food that was made this year was special because the kids had helped to make it. Mrs. Birch had more of her 'Cooking with Lisa Birch' lessons a couple of times every month for the past year. Over that period she had taught May and Brendan proper knife skills, cooking techniques, food safety, as well as trying different dishes for them to taste. They made a wide variety of foods from as close as Hoenn to as far as Alola. This time they made sure to the follow the book as she didn't want another disaster like their first attempt to occur again.

She said, "well the book does provide helpful information, but I still think mother's intuition trumps it all," while holding a wooden spoon high above her head.

May could only laugh slightly at her actions while Brendan just rolled his eyes. He knew that his mother would never admit to anyone else that she had made a terrible meal.

They had also invited a couple of people from Littleroot as well as a couple from Petalburg. One of those families included a family known as the Woods. They were a small family consisting of a mother, father, and their young son.

Now that May and Brendan got a closer look at the son, they realized that he looked a bit familiar. Upon further inspection and talking to the boy, the pair found out that he attended the same school they went, although he was a year younger. He had pale white skin and a small frame along with gray eyes and large green messy hair. As it turned out, he had a bad respiratory disease and would often miss school because of this. He also mentioned how his parents were thinking of moving him to Verdanturf Town because the air there was much cleaner.

"So Wally," Brendan began, "are you planning on being a pokemon trainer?"

Wally paused for second before responding, "I would love to be a pokemon trainer, but I'm not sure if I'm fit to be one. I would like to finish school before I think about it."

Brendan placed a hand on his shoulder giving the boy a bright smile. "If you ever chose to then stop by Littleroot and pay us a visit. Oh and come to the lab too."

Wally gave the other boy a bright smile before noticing May who was ogling the large cake that they had made earlier. They hoped that it was as good as the cakes from their local sweets shop, but that would be a task almost impossible to achieve.

"So May are you gonna be pokemon trainer?" Wally asked, walking over to May.

May took her eyes off the cake to face Wally, she thought for a moment and responded with, "I don't really know Wally, being a trainer looks like a lot of work and dirty traveling. I would much rather just stay home or maybe just travel without pokemon being in it." This caused a frown to appear on not only Wally's face but Brendan's as well. To Brendan traveling with pokemon was a lifetime experience. He couldn't fathom as to how May didn't want to travel, but he decided he would think more about that issue later. At the moment he was still treating Wally's hand for the bite Drake had given him earlier.

As the brunette boy suspected, Drake bit people as a way of showing affection, although he only did it the first time like it was his way of saying, "hi nice to meet you."

"You really know how to make first impressions don't ya?" Brendan sarcastically asked the dragon type as he finished applying the plaster to Wally's hand. The small dragon type gave the boy a nod and a toothy smile as if proud of himself. At this point he had bitten almost resident in Littleroot Town, and although he didn't display outright dislike for May like Skipper did, he had still bitten her, convincing the girl that he was the devil's child.

"Wally you should of seen May's face when he bit her," Bredan laughed,putting away his first aid kit back into his bag. He had a wide grin on his face. "She looked as if she had seen Giratina."

"It's only because that little devil took me by surprise," crossing her arms. "Seriously Brendan, why do your pokemon hate me?"

"They don't hate you May. Well Drake doesn't hate you. He only bit you once and he bites people he likes so he actually likes you," he answered, standing back up.

"Still doesn't change that he bit me," she glumly responded. "And Skipper hates me for no reason."

"He doesn't hate you May." She gave a him a look and he sighed, "well ok then maybe he does hate you. Who knows whatever you could of done to the mudkip line in your past life to make him hate you," resigning that he wouldn't be able to change May's mind. Her perception of the mudkip line had been severely tainted by that little blue devil.

Wally could only laugh as the two brunettes spoke to each other. They looked at him with confused looks. Skipper wondered if the green haired boy was making fun of him and was ready to shoot water gun at a second's notice. When he calmed down he said, "you two are so funny, you're like a married couple."

"Couple?!" they both exclaimed. They looked at each other for a second before turning around so they were facing away from each other. A slight blush was growing on both of their faces. Perhaps Skipper was justified in shooting that water gun after the green haired boy embarrassed his trainer. Soon it was May who was laughing.

"I thought that little blue devil only did that to me!" she exclaimed exploding with laughter. Her laughing fit didn't last long as she too was water gunned in the face again, the second time in that day actually. Now it was Brendan's turn to laugh loudly, but Skipper wasn't done yet. He got off the boy's head and shot a water gun at him striking him in the face. Now all three children were on the floor laughing. Drake looked on as if they were crazy while the parents could only snicker in the background.

Wally, along with his parents, eyes widened once he saw the ravenous eating pair that was Brendan and May. Every plate of food that was placed in front of them was licked clean to the point where it looked like there had never been any food on them. It also didn't help that they were having another eating contest so they were eating much faster than normal.

"Umm do they always eat like that?" Mrs. Woods asked looking over at the pair's parents.

The fathers shrugged while the mothers looked slightly embarrassed. "Well," Lisa began, "growing boys gotta eat," she said taking a bite out of her steak.

Caroline couldn't come up with anything to say. She was sometimes embarrassed when May's eating habits were mentioned by other people but this time she whispered, "well growing girls gotta eat too, especially if she wants to grow in that area."

Wally could only keep staring as the two continued eating. He had bet money on May winning earlier but now it looked like she was falling way behind. There was no way that she could catch up to the boy now. Now he had wished he had bet money on Brendan as Mr. Woods looked like he was gonna win the bet.

"There done!" Brendan exclaimed, finishing off his fifteenth plate of food.

"Cheater," May said, she had only finished her ninth plate.

"Guess you owe me some money Wally," Mr. Woods spoke, looking down at his son. Wally could only sigh as he pulled out a 1000 Pokedollar bill and handed it to his dad. Meanwhile May was chasing Brendan around after he had playfully called her a loser.

With the strike of midnight came the opening of the presents. The three children would of fallen asleep way before that if it wasn't for the excitement of opening presents. All three children received new pairs of clothes. May received a beautiful red flowered patterned kimono along with accessories to wear on her hair like flowers and clips. Brendan had received a similar kimono, although his was a dark blue shade and it lacked the flowers that May had. Apparently their parents said they would like their children to wear them for New Years. They would also be going in kimono as well to visit the Petalburg Shrine. Wally had received a gray cardigan that fit him perhaps a bit too big, but he was sure he would grow into it.

With the opening of presents came new video games for the boy to try out. He had invited May and Wally to play as well. Naturally he taught May the wrong controls just to mess with her while he was more honest with Wally. Actually at this point, he was surprised that May let him teach her the controls after all the other times he messed with her. She seemed to at least have some little faith in him, but it was all crushed when she realized she had been duped yet again. She would never again let the boy teach her how to play. It would be much better for her to simply learn how to play herself instead of relying on him.

New years came around with a quick visit to the Petalburg Shrine, the families couldn't stay long because Norman had to give a New Years Speech back at the gym that year, so they had to make their visit quick. Everyone was dressed in kimono, even Max! Even he wore a white kimono with blue floral patterns.

Brendan had tried earlier to even put Skipper and Drake in a small kimono as well but they had vehemently refused. Quite a bummer for Brendan since he and his mother had spent some time making the garments for the pokemon.

May was hit with a familiar feeling when she entered the shrine. She felt like she had there before like in some sort of dream, but she couldn't place her finger on it. She didn't have much time to think about it as Brendan enthusiastically pulled her towards the shrine bell where they could make a wish for the new year. Soon after the countdown to the new year began and so did the fireworks and congratulations.

Even little Max who had been watching everything unfold with great curiosity couldn't help but clap when he saw everyone else do it. He wriggled his way out of his mother's hold and placed his feet on the ground, grabbing his mother's red kimono for support. What he did next surprised everyone as Norman was quick to take his recording camera out and start filming. Caroline could only gush that her little boy was finally walking.

"You're getting everything right Norman?" Caroline asked as she was carefully following behind her son in an effort to keep him from falling.

"Every last bit honey," he responded, holding the camera in a stable condition.

Lisa who was standing in the background said to her husband, "remember when our little boy took his first steps?"

"He's not our little boy anymore. He's growing really fast," Professor Birch responded with.

"I know, so I want to treasure every moment I get with him," moving to stand behind her son and wrapping him in a hug. The boy let out a couple of embarrassed protests before succumbing to the hug. Professor Birch joined soon after.

May could only smile as she observed the Birch's interactions. She looked over to her parents who were still recording her walking brother. "I guess Max's wish was to walk," she muttered with a large grin on her face.

 _My wish for this year is that our relationship keeps getting stronger,_ she thought before her mother also pulled her along for a hug along with her father.

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An: Honestly I never really intended in writing Wally in this story, but the opportunity pretty much showed itself and I took it and he's a Hoennshipper too. Honestly everyone in this fanfic is a Hoennshipper. Maybe we will be seeing more of him in the future, or maybe not, I'm not completely sure.

As always here are our pair's ages in this chapter

Brendan- 9

May- 9

As always thanks to everyone who has read and I hope to see you again in the next chapter.


	14. Summer Heat

Hi everyone and welcome back to chapter fourth-teen of this story. Hope you guys enjoy!

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Chapter 14: Summer Heat

With the end of the Hoenn Spring came the end of the cool mornings and cool afternoons. The cherry blossoms had long since migrated their flowers, removing their pink coloration from the landscape as well as the many other flowers that blossomed during spring.

With the end of spring came the onset of the long Hoenn summer. The long summer that for some reason this year became almost unbearable. The scorching heat mixed along with the humidity gave people the sensation of being roasted alive like a turkey for Christmas.

Inside her home stood a brunette girl who was tiredly fanning herself with a paper fan. Out of all days for their AC to breakdown, it just had to be today, the hottest day of the year.

There were numerous fans placed around the living room and the rest of the house cooling the rooms only slightly, but the same unbearable feeling of being roasted was still present. She looked over to her right to see that her mother and younger brother were in no better shape. Her mother was sitting in the kitchen table hogging a fan all to herself while her little brother sat on the floor hogging is own fan as well. They had visited their neighbors earlier that day, hoping that they could stay at their house, but to their utter horror they found out that their AC was also malfunctioning. Apparently they had put too much strain on the cooling systems and were now paying the price.

 _Well, it could be worse,_ the young girl thought while still fanning herself. She would of gotten up from the couch to hog her own fan but all the sweat felt as if she had been glued to it.

 _I could be outside getting burnt up in this terrible heat, instead of being inside,_ she continued. Then a thought popped into her head. _Oh wait Professor Birch and Brendan are outside today doing fieldwork. Hopefully they don't get burned up._

* * *

True to the girl's thoughts, her neighbors were outside in the unbearable heat doing their regular rounds of fieldwork. They had decided to wear clothing a bit more appropriate for the weather, but it wasn't making much difference. Professor Birch wore khaki shorts along with a dark blue shirt underneath his lab coat. He also wore brown sandals. Brendan was wearing khaki shorts as well, but instead of wearing his usual long sleeved button up shirt, he decided to wear a short sleeve, white shirt underneath his lab coat. He wasn't wearing sandals like his dad but kept on a pair of white and green sneakers. He also wore a black baseball cap to keep the sun out his eyes.

They had come out the creek where they had found a salamence mother, to observe how the heat affected the local pokemon. When they reached there, they were surprised to find that the creek was filled nearly to the brim with many of the local pokemon. The two most noticeable being zigzagoon and poochyena. They inferred that the reason for this was because the two mammalian like pokemon were having difficulties handling the heat. The wurmple on the other hand seemed to be enjoying the heat as they kept resting in their trees, with some sewing their cocoons, as if the heat wasn't an issue to begin with.

The young boy had returned his two pokemon to their pokeballs in an effort to spare them from the heat, so it was just him and his dad out scouting for data. The boy pulled out his water bottle again and greedily drank its contents. His father was soon to follow. He had already drank multiple large bottles in that short expanse of time, but who could blame him. He had already sweat through his outfit and he knew his father was in a same situation.

He looked up at the sky, careful to avoid looking at the sun, to see if there were any bird pokemon about. As it turned out, after observing for the past hour, the bird pokemon seemed to prefer staying in their trees rather than flying exposed to the sun.

"Guess we won't be collecting data on the taillow today," he muttered.

He lowered his head to face in the direction of the creek then noticed his father staring at the creek with those 'mischievous childlike eyes' after the man had taken a large gulp of water. He knew what his father was thinking and honestly he would of done the same if it weren't for all the pokemon in the creek.

"Dad, don't jump in there. You know the pokemon didn't appreciate it the last time you jumped in," the boy said in a dry voice. He remembered how in another hot summer day, his father had decided to jump into the creek to cool down and was chased away by the pokemon and the boy had to chase after him for the next half hour. Apparently they didn't appreciate humans and surprises in their creek.

As it turned out, the man was a pretty fast runner which made Brendan tired after chasing after him.

Professor Birch let out a long breathy sigh then looked at his ten year old son. He knew they wouldn't be able to get much work done with this heat so he said, "son, why don't we just call it a day? It's way too hot to be outside and I feel we are gonna get heat stroke."

The boy was more than ready to leave as he quickly packed all his supplies back into his bag then headed towards the jeep, his dad followed soon after. Although he had been excited to gather data, the constant feeling of getting roasted alive wasn't pleasant on the body and skin. He had noticed that he had been getting a slight tan due to spending so much time outside. Perhaps he would consider wearing sunblock more often.

The heat also seemed to have affected Professor Birch as he wasn't driving like a maniac today but like a regular sane person would.

"Did the heat affect you that much dad?" the boy teased which earned a groan from his father.

"Yeah my boy, heat can really exhaust someone," he answered back, not wanting to speak anymore.

* * *

Back at the Birch residence, Lisa Birch had her head in her refrigerator in an effort to escape the oven that her house had become. She let out a loud groan as she heard the phone ring. She hesitantly removed her head from the cool appliance to answer the phone. She could already feel the heat getting to her once she left her icy paradise. She quickly walked over to the stand where the phone laid while holding a bag of frozen peas to her head. She wanted to return to her icy bastion as soon as possible.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Ah honey," the caller began. "Brendan and I decided to call it a day so why don't we go to the beach or the pool or something?"

Lisa looked over to the map of Hoenn noticing that Littleroot was quite near the beach, but due to the sharpedo having their migration during this time of year, it was advised that people stay out of the waters. "Well Edward, there's a pool in Oldale town we can go to. Caroline and May passed by earlier and they are burning up as well. Should we also invite them?"

"Yeah, go ahead, it would be a good way to cool us all down," he responded back sounding slightly tired.

"Alright, then I'll call them and we will head out. Bye honey," she said getting a similar response from her husband and then hanging up.

She then called the Maple home asking them if they wanted to join them and they enthusiastically agreed. Now she had to make sure to get everything she needed such as towels, sunblock, water battles, extra clothes, and snacks. She quickly got dressed in appropriate clothing and began organizing her bag. She made sure to take an extra pair of clothes for her husband and son.

The sound of the door opening and a "we're home" alerted the mother that her family had arrived. She walked over to the living room noticing that her husband looked like he had been drowned in a pond while her son didn't look much better. Brendan had removed his baseball cap and began fanning himself in an effort to cool himself down, but it wasn't helping much.

"Mom did the AC break? It feels like there's a camerupt inside here." He sounded exhausted and was still fanning himself.

"Yeah, I've called the handyman and he's coming by tomorrow to take a look at it. Our neighbors are also having similar problems."

"Their AC broke too? And out of all days in the year," Birch joked.

Lisa let out a small laugh before she said, "You two should get changed. You look like you fell in a pond."

"Well, I did tell Skipper to water gun us to cool us down," the boy shrugged.

Lisa could only laugh as she imagined the image of her husband and son getting a water gun to the face. She them remembered something and turned back to face them again, "the neighbors are also coming so make sure Skipper gives May a good one," she teased.

A smirk made a way on his lips, "aye aye mom," he answered back making his way upstairs to his room to change. As he was changing he remembered what his mother had said.

 _Wait May is coming along! What if she wears a… NO stop Brendan! Don't think like that!_ He mentally slapped himself as his face grew a slight shade of red. _I'm sure she wouldn't wear something like that… I hope._

* * *

At the Maple home, Caroline was doing the same. She had just helped May pick her swimwear while also changing Max. She had also just finished packing her bag before she heard a knock on the door. She called for May to follow after her and handed the girl a bag while she carried her own bag as well. Max was walking besides his mother.

She opened the door to find a familiar boy with messy brown hair already wearing his swim clothes waiting outside her door. He had already changed out of fieldwork outfit and into a white t-shirt and dark blue swim trunks along with a black baseball cap and black flip flops.

"Hi Mrs. Maple, you guys ready to go?" He asked motioning to the jeep that was parked outside their home. Lisa and Professor Birch were already inside.

Brendan's eyes paused for a moment on May. He noticed that she wore jean shorts with a red tank top. He assumed that she was wearing her swimsuit underneath. He silently hoped she had decided not the wear the kind of swimsuit he was thinking of. He slightly blushed and turned his face away so that May didn't catch sight of him. May however created a smirk when she noticed his reaction. But if she had been honest with herself she too was slightly staring at him as well. She had noticed that he had gotten slightly tanner from spending so much time outside.

"Come on May, we're burning daylight, don't stare at Brendan like that," Caroline joked pushing May out the door and locking it soon after. May could feel her face growing red from her mother's comment. Brendan looked like he hadn't noticed, but his face was also red, May just couldn't see it since he was facing away. The boy lead them to the jeep where they soon reconciled inside.

"Isn't this heat just terrible, haven't seen this much heat since we've moved in," Lisa joked as the Professor drove to Oldale Town. The adults kept making small talk as the ride went on. May noticed that Brendan lacked his usual energy. Perhaps the heat had gotten to him she thought, or he was just embarrassed from earlier. Well anyway she was just glad that she had the opportunity to cool herself down.

The ride to Oldale town hadn't taken long, just about fifthteen minutes. Caroline and Lisa joked that Professor Birch didn't drive like was insane and he just said that the heat had drained all his energy earlier. Brendan had returned to his normal self as he began playfully teasing May like always. He didn't let his pokemon out yet since he was waiting for the perfect moment for Skipper to surprise her with water gun. They quickly made their way out the jeep and into the swimming pool perimeter. They were quite surprised that there weren't many people there especially in this heat. Perhaps people preferred to stay in their nice air conditioned homes instead of going out.

The families set their belongings down and prepared themselves for the cool pool water. May had removed her shorts and tank top revealing that she was wearing a light blue swim skirt with flower accents. She also wore a frilly bikini top with similar floral accents to her skirt (A/n I'm a guy so I don't know anything about female swimwear).

Professor Birch was the first to remove his blue shirt leaving him in red swim trunks and jumped into the cool water creating a large splash. Lisa was soon to follow as she set her bag down and jumped into the water once she was in her swimsuit. Caroline had to take extra precautions since she had a little one with her. Luckily for her, she had brought a yellow life preserver for him to wear.

Brendan too had removed his white shirt and cap leaving him in his swim trunks. He noticed May standing by the water dipping her toes in first like she was afraid of the water's coldness. He considered he would be doing both of them a favor by pushing her in. He wanted to feel the cool waters while May looked like she was hesitant but still wanted to cool down. He let his pokemon out allowing them to do as they pleased. Drake took a seat on one of the chairs while Skipper made his way to the pool, undetected by May.

Before he could do anything however he felt hands clasp his shoulders and a cool feeling on his back. When he turned around, he found that the hands belonged to his mother and the cool feeling was coming from her rubbing sunblock on his back. She had made her way out of water without her son noticing as soon as she remembered that she forgot to apply sunblock.

"Mom," he groaned.

"Oh come on honey, you can never be too safe," she said as she kept rubbing sunblock on his back. Lisa noticed how her son had lost his pale appearance and had been replaced with a slightly tanner one. It honestly made his look a lot better but she just wanted to make sure her son didn't get any sort of skin disease.

Brendan sighed and applied sunblock to his body while still eyeing May from the corner of his eye. Much to his amusement, May was still reluctant to enter the water as she was dipping her toes in the water and quickly retracted them.

After the entire sunblock ordeal was over, a grin pulled on Brendan's lips as he called out "Hey May!" and ran towards her. She barely had time to register his approaching figure as he tackled her into the water with both of them fell in with a loud splash.

The cool feeling overwhelmed her senses. She was shocked at first but soon she let the cool waters remove all the heat she had felt during the day. She opened her eyes to see a familiar brown haired boy practically hugging her beneath the water. He seemed maybe a bit too pleased with himself. She shoved him off and pushed herself to the surface. She pierced the surface wiping the water from her face. She patiently waited for the boy to arise, ready to splash him in the face. When she saw his head rising to the surface she was quick to splash him which earned laughters from him a, "stop May."

"Brendan you jerk! You deserve this!" Forcelly splashing him further in an effort to get revenge. This caused the boy to unleash his own splash attack at the girl. She was angry about him pushing her in, but she was also glad that she was able to have fun.

"Hey I did that because it looked like you wouldn't be going into the pool today," he defended, grabbing her shoulders and dunking her under the water. Due to their similar height she was able to quickly resurface and dunk him. She was actually a couple centimeters taller than he was.

"That's what you get shorty," she teased as he resurfaced.

"Hey I'm not much shorter than you!" splashing her again.

"Yeah you're pipsqueak," she teased.

The boy seemed to have given up on the kiddy argument as he didn't say anything else. Skipper had resurfaced from the pools depths ready to splash May. May had expected a water attack, but she didn't know when she would be getting it. She smiled deviously on the inside as she was already wet so she didn't care. Much to her horror, she realized the Pokémon and boy knew this as well as heard her neighbor shout "ice beam". Her eyes widened as the water type let out a low powered ice beam turning her head into a popsicle. A water gun she could handle, but an ice beam was different.

She could hear Brendan snickering in the background about her predicament. She walked over to him and punched him in the arm which did nothing to calm his laughter down.

"Ugh Brendan, I can never catch a break can I?"

"Nope, as long as Skipper is involved you'll never catch a break."

They continued playing and teasing each other for the following hours. Lisa was wise in bringing snacks as the two ate their usual portions by the second hour at the pool. By the time the sun was setting, the lifeguard notified all the patrons that the pool would be closing soon. May was the first to get out drying her hair and placing her jean shorts and red tank top back on. Everyone else followed soon after.

The slightly cool night wind was surprisingly refreshing even if it was still hot outside. Brendan dried himself off and put his white t-shirt back on. He didn't place his baseball cap back on as the sun was no longer there. He recalled Drake, but Skipper refused to be recalled as he wanted to sleep on the boy's head like always.

The ride back to Littleroot was shrouded in near absolute silence. Max had fallen asleep in his mother arms while Brendan and May had fallen asleep on each other's shoulders. Skipper had since migrated to his trainer's lap.

"It's moments like these that I always carry a camera around," Lisa teased causing Caroline and the professor to snicker. She snapped multiple pictures of the sleeping children saying, "these are keepers."

"Make sure you send me those Lisa."

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AN: A little fun fact about this story. When I did my first outline, the story was only meant to be fourteen chapters long, but as a I continued writing, I thought of more little shenanigans our pair could get involved in. As it stands now there's about ten more chapters left until the end. As usual our pair's ages

Brendan: 10

May: 9

Hope you guys enjoyed and I hope to see you guys next in the next update!


	15. May's Fieldwork Part 1

Hi everyone and welcome back to chapter fifteenth of this story. This chapter and the following will see May go a bit out of her comfort zone.

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Chapter 15: May's Fieldwork Part 1

When May signed up to go field working with the professor and her best friend, she never knew it entailed waking up at four in the morning. Of course, she was reluctant to go with them when they first mentioned it, but after much persuasion from her mother and from her friend she agreed to go with them. Something that she wished she hadn't.

It wasn't a completely terrible experience. Sure, getting chased by a pack of angry poochyena after falling off a tree and hitting the leader, then getting thrown into a mud puddle was not her ideal way of starting her first day as an assistant, but it at least ensured that it was a memory she wasn't going to forget soon and it made her second and final day seem more ordinary than the first.

* * *

The familiar obnoxious tapping sound from the window awoke the eleven-year-old brunet girl right in the middle of a pleasant dream. Her eyes slowly opened the reveal the pitch-black darkness that was her room. She pondered whether there had been a solar eclipse or if her eyes were playing tricks on her. She glanced over to her digital clock to have both thoughts thrown out the window.

 _It's four in the freaking morning and he's already waking me up? Doesn't he know I need my beauty sleep!_ She thought to herself as she laid on her bed. She had gotten a crash course from Brendan about what researchers do. One of the details he mentioned was that researchers sometimes need to wake up early to get the most work done in a day.

When the obnoxious tapping didn't stop, she realized that she had no other option but to wake up. She could always stay in bed, but she knew that her neighbor would not give up so easily. She knew that feeling all too well when she had overslept and made them late for school. She knew that the boy was willing to take any means to wake up her, even if he did end up waking the entire town in the process. She remembered how multiple times when his constant tennis ball tosses to her window didn't wake her up, he would shortly go back into his house and grab a trumpet where he would proceed to toot the instrument loudly until she finally cracked.

She would quickly walk over to her window and slam it open. She would then yell at him, "I'm up already so shut up!"

And he would yell back, "snorlax you've slept in again, we're gonna be late!"

Then she would go back inside and begin to get ready in a hurry. Sometimes her mother even forgot to wake her up as Max was putting her through the wringer.

Taking care of a little one certainly wasn't easy, and it didn't help that the little one had grown to be quite a brat. For someone so small, he acted as if he owned everything.

The sound silence stopped her in her flashback. She knew what was coming after the tapping stopped. She quickly made her way out of the bed and ran towards her window. She slammed the window open and yelled, "Brendan wait! I'm awake now!"

She said it just in time as the boy outside, who was dimly lit from the streetlights, already had the trumpet in position and ready to use it.

"Great to see that you're awake sleepyhead, you can come by my place for breakfast if you want," he greeted, moving the trumpet away from his lips and placing it back down in its case.

She managed a nod before rushing back in and changing out of her pajamas and into something that would be more appropriate for the environment. Well somewhat more appropriate for the environment as she also wanted to keep a sense of style. She picked out something very similar to what she had seen Brendan wear when he went on his trips. She picked out a white long sleeve button up shirt, a dark blue knee-length skirt, with shorts underneath along with black rain boots since it had been raining quite a bit lately.

She walked down the stairs to her living room where she wrote a note for her mom, telling her that she went with her neighbors and would be back later. She didn't know at what time they would be back, so it would be best to say that she will be back later instead of giving a solid time.

She grabbed her yellow fanny pack that her mother had helped her pack the day before. It contained all the essentials she would need such as a change of clothes, snacks, water bottles, an umbrella, first aid kit, bug spray, sunblock, and even a tent and sleeping bag if she needed it. She was immensely surprised when all those items fit in the small bag effortlessly.

Naturally she asked the one person she was sure was knowledgeable about to subject to explain how it worked. Brendan said that it was a new technology that was developed in Sinnoh to make traveling easier for trainers. It combined the same technology to store pokemon in their pokeballs to bags, allowing bags to shrink down the items and make them as light as possible. He had also told her that his green turtle shell like backpack was the same and even said he could fit his bike in effortlessly.

She raised an eyebrow not believing that claim at first until he showed her. He grabbed his bike and opened his backpack. In a split second the bike was enveloped in a red aura like that of a returning pokemon and was shrunk down to fit into the bag. He later pulled it out without much effort and there it was like before. These bags were truly miracles.

He did however say that he heard a voice say something strange in his head every time he pulled his bike out indoors. He has described it as some old man from a far-off region or something like that.

She opened her front door to be greeted with the cool October air. As she had expected the entire town was still asleep.

 _Like who in their right mind would be up at this hour_ she internally commented.

The streets were dark say for the parts that were lit with street lamps. Her eyes drifted to her neighbor's house where she saw that the lights were already on. She softy closed the door behind her, locked it, and then walked to the professor's house.

She rang the doorbell upon arriving and it was quickly opened to reveal the shape of brown haired boy. She could see him more clearly now, as opposed to earlier. He was wearing his usual fieldwork outfit along with his lab coat. She saw that he was eating a piece of toast while in the background she saw his two pokemon happily munching on their own food.

"Took you long enough, come on, Dad make breakfast." He grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

"Gee Brendan a good morning, would have been nice you know," she replied once inside.

"Good Morning May," he said back sarcastically as he lead her into the dining room where she saw Professor Birch wearing a black apron while carrying around a frying pan.

"Ah good morning May, nice to see that you made it. I was afraid Brendan would of set of fireworks if you didn't wake up," he joked as he was laying out a plate for May.

"Good morning professor," she greeted back. Taking a seat opposite to Brendan. She saw that he had already cleaned out his plate and was going for another serving. "I better get some before he eats it all," she joked looking at the boy's eating face. His face looked like a pikachu stuffing its face. She couldn't help but crack a smile.

He offered her a smile saying, "well May, we are gonna need as much energy today, so make sure you eat. You never know what may happen."

It came as no surprise when her face met a torrent of cool water before she got her serving from the Professor. Over the past five years she had been getting hit with water almost every day to the point where she just decided to give up in trying to avoid it. No matter how hard she tried to avoid the small water type, he would somehow find her and shoot her down.

"Good morning to you Skipper," she greeted sarcastically already pulling her towel out her bag to dry herself.

"Mud Mud!" the water type exclaimed before turning back to his bowl of food. As usual Brendan had his hand over his mouth in an effort to cover his laughter.

"Looks like you're fully awake now May. Maybe Skipper sensed you were still sleepy and woke you up with that water gun," Professor Birch said while laying a large plate of waffles, eggs, bacon and toast in front of her.

"I'm sure that was it," she sarcastically responded giving a small glare to the still laughing boy and the water type.

Professor Birch removed his apron, placing it on a hook in the kitchen and then grabbed his brown satchel. "You kids come down to the jeep once you're done, we've got a lot of stuff to do today".

They gave him a nod before he left through the front door to his jeep.

"I thought your mom cooked, not your dad."

"Well Mom didn't appreciate waking up at the four in the morning to cook breakfast, so Dad and I had to learn how to make it ourselves," he began, pouring May a glass of orange juice.

"Sounds just like my mom," she said, grabbing the glass and then eating the enormous serving within five minutes. Brendan had already finished his, so he carried his plates to the kitchen then walked back to see his pokemon. He returned Drake to his ball, but Skipper wanted to stay out. As usual the boy placed the water type on his head then headed out the door with his backpack.

"We'll be waiting for you at the jeep," he said before exiting.

* * *

The jeep was speeding down the dirt road as May was desperately holding onto the chair in an effort to not fly out the window. Brendan merely eyed the clipboard in his hands reading over some of the previous data he had gathered earlier that week. He had told her that today they would be visiting the hillside and the woods to study the mating rituals of the poochyena. He had also told her that Professor Birch wanted to find a certain poochyena and get his revenge because it had chased the man then bit him on the backside.

"Here we are kids," the professor said as the parked the car under a large maple tree. The landscape was covered with hills with green grass coating them. Trees of all different kinds such as maple, willow, birch, and oaks dotted the hills. There were also small shrubs and bushes growing around the area.

The pair had gotten outside to be greeted with the cool October air as well as the sun's ray as it began to move over the horizon. "Brendan, why don't you show May the ropes and I'll do my own work," the professor suggested.

"Right Dad," he nodded. He grabbed May's hand and led her to a nearby oak tree. "Come on May, we can get a great view from up here," he said motioning to the top of the tree.

"Wait, you mean, you want to climb the tree?" she asked with widened eyes. She didn't have much outdoors experience and she definitely had no idea how to climb trees.

"Yeah how else are we supposed to get a view of the area?" He questioned, already beginning to effortlessly climb like he was a mankey.

"But Brendan, I don't know how to climb," she retorted, afraid that she would fall and hurt herself or him in the process.

"Don't worry I'll help you," he reassured with a smile. He held his hand out for the girl. She hesitantly grabbed his hand and was gently helped up onto the branches.

"From here on out it's like the monkey bars at the playground, just don't look down," he teased.

She scoffed then followed after him as he climbed further up the tree. When he reached a large branch near the top he stopped to set his bag down and to look for May who was struggling. "Need any help," he asked. A grin was tugging at his lips like he knew that May was having a hard time.

"Nah I got this," she said more confidently than she felt. A small yelp left her mouth as her foot almost slipped off the branch she was using as support. "On second thought, yes, I could use some help," she admitted avoiding eye contact with him.

Like before he extended his hand for her and gently helped her up. She was treated to a magnificent view of the route when she sat next to him. From the distance, she could spot Littleroot Town and Oldale Town.

"You should see this place when it's spring," he began, taking a pair of binoculars from his bag. "The cherry blossoms are in full bloom coating the area in a pink shade. The hills are covered in all different colored flowers. Maybe you should come during spring to see it," he said while looking through the binoculars.

"I would like to," she responded. "And what are the binoculars for? You look silly."

"Well May, they are too look for the poochyena pack I told you about. It's much easier to spot them up here and then head towards their direction than it is for us to look around them on foot."

"What's so special about them anyway?" Taking a look at the sun that was halfway past the horizon, coating the sky in an orange and red shade.

"Well nothing really, just came to observe how the male and females behave together. Like you know how they get it on sort of speak," he said enthusiastically while still looking for them.

May's face had grown a soft shade of red at his words. She had recently had the talk with her parents about it, and the fact that the boy spoke about it so casually made her feel embarrassed.

"Ah found them!" He exclaimed, pointing east. "It would probably be best If we get down and locate them now," he said putting his supplies back in his bag.

"Brendan wait!" The girl exclaimed. "Why don't we just stay and see this sunrise together?" She suggested.

A blush grew on the boy's face at her words and he said, "Umm sure… I don't see why not."

She gave him a smile and they sat together for the next fifteen minutes observing as the sun made its way onto the sky. They made casual chat with Brendan teasing her like always and May providing her own teases as well. She realized she could no longer tease him on his height as it was now he who was slightly taller than she was. She didn't know what had come over her as she slowly closed her eyes and began laying her head on his shoulder. Perhaps she was tired from waking up to early and wanted to take a nap, or perhaps she wanted something else entirely.

The boy didn't stop her as he too closed his eyes and leaned his head against the girl's. Maybe he too was tired from waking up early, or it was something else entirely.

The feeling of falling, followed by a soft hit and a loud yelp caused the pair, who had been sleeping for the past couple of hours, to open their eyes. They were utterly confused of the image they saw when they woke up. Instead of seeing tree tops and hills they were seeing the sky dotted with clouds along with tree canopies.

A loud furious bark alerted them that they were laying on top of a couple of poochyenas that had broken their falls and they realized that they had fallen down the tree while they were asleep. They both quickly sprinted to their feet realizing they had squished about seven of the gray furred mammals and saw how the pokemon recomposed themselves on their feet. One look at the leader's eyes told the pair that he meant business.

"May," Brendan gulped, "looks like we will be getting our daily exercise."

"What do you mean-" she was cut off as Brendan grabbed her hand and began running through the woods dragging May behind him. It's true that poochyena packs can be quite aggressive when provoked and their earlier actions certainly provoked at least thirty of them.

The pair was running as fast they could and the pack was only gaining on them. "Brendan can't you do something?" May asked, struggling to keep the pace.

"There's too many for Skipper and Drake to handle," he panted while looking around for some sort of place they could hide until the heat died down.

Skipper who was still on the boy's head after falling down the tree was ordered to use an ice beam to slow them down. Much to his dismay and the boy's the attack only slowed them down slightly as the pack skied its way across the frozen terrain.

"Don't they ever give up?" May asked, beginning to feel exhausted.

"Nope, Poochyena are pokemon that will chase until their prey becomes exhausted," Brendan breathed tiredly, beginning to feel exhausted as well.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" she asked.

Well… how do you feel about getting dirty?"

The girl would take anything at the moment if it meant avoiding a mauling by the pokemon.

"Anything, just get them out of our tail," she yelled.

"Glad to hear it," he responded leading them towards a different direction. He stopped at a large hole that was covered in mud and nudged May forward. Now she really regretted telling him it was fine, but before she had time to protest he jumped in and since he still had a hold of May's hand, she was dragged in as well.

They both fell with a large muddy splash.

"Cover yourself with as much as you can," she heard. "It will hide our scent and appearance," he continued, as the boy was already rubbing himself with the mud. Skipper was also slapping mud across him as well. May, although she hated it, needed to do the same. She grabbed large piles of mud and threw them onto herself ruining her outfit. She was so gonna get him back after this. "Get down once you're done," she heard. The boy and pokemon were already laying down not moving to camouflage with the mud.

The boy knew that although poochyena were fierce, they weren't particularly bright. He noticed May make her way down as well as the pack neared the puddle. The leader appeared to be surveying the puddle for a minute before he called for the pack to leave. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, the boy stood up panting in relief, "well that was close."

"Ohh Brendan," he heard in a sweet voice. He turned around to see a muddy May carrying a mud ball in her right hand and hurling it at him where it hit him in the face. "That's what you get for dragging me in."

The boy created a smirk, "so that's how you wanna play then?" making his own mudball and hurling it at the girl. It also struck her in the face. The water type had also decided to join in the fun as he began using mud slap on the boy and girl.

The sun was beginning to dip back into the sky as Brendan and May got out the puddle and were being rinsed off by Skipper's water gun. The attack managed to get the mud off them, but their clothes were horribly stained with mud. They walked over to opposite sides of the clearing and changed clothes. Luckily for them, their bags were made so they could take a good beating as well as being waterproof. It's a good thing they both carried extra sets in case something happened.

Although they had rinsed out, and changed clothes, they still looked pretty dirty. When nothing else could be done, they had simply decided to head back to where they first started, hopefully not running into any more poochyena.

"So Brendan did we get any data?"

"Oh shoot, we didn't get any data at all," he said as they headed back to the jeep where Professor Birch was waiting.

"Won't your dad be mad?" she asked in slight concern.

"Nah, not once I tell him the data we collected," he said.

"What data? You just said you didn't collect any."

"You know the one about how ferocious poochyena are, how long they chased after us, how their smell and sight are affected by mud, and how we got this dirty," he joked.

May could only crack a smile as they neared the professor. He eyed them for a second before asking, "what happened to you. You look like you fell into a mud puddle."

Brendan's smile widened as he said, "well Dad that's exactly what happened. Right May?"

"Right."

Brendan then told the professor the entire story about being chased, the mud puddle and their all-out mud war that caused them to look like this.

"Well you two certainly look like you had fun and you did gather some data so it's not a complete waste. Why don't we head home to get dinner and get you cleaned up," motioning for the jeep.

They were more than happy to follow as the professor started the jeep up and drove them back to Littleroot.

"May," the girl heard from the backseat. She turned to face the boy who had a wide smile on his face. "Dad won't be coming tomorrow so you can get to sleep in and we can have more fun tomorrow."

"I look forward to it," she responded with a similar smile. Perhaps this day wasn't as much as a disaster as she thought it would be.

* * *

An: The main reason why I wrote this chapter and the following one was to create a buffer between the pool chapter and chapter 17 since chapter 17 was originally meant to go right after 14, but due to time skip being too large, I decided to write these two chapters to make the skip seem not as big. As always here's our pair's ages:

Brendan- 11

May-11

I'm not really sure if mentioned it before, but the main reason why I changed the age of becoming a trainer(at least in Hoenn) was because I think 10 year olds are way too young to be going out on their own in the world. Granted this is the pokemon world, but it still feels just strange to be letting little kids take on the world. Hopefully you guys enjoyed and I hope to see you back next update!


	16. May's Fieldwork Part 2

Hi everyone and welcome to chapter sixthteenth of this story. This chapter will follow May's second day when she takes a trip to do fieldwork and it hopefully turns out better than the first. Hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 16: May's Fieldwork Part 2

The sun was slowly rising over the horizon over the small town of Littleroot. A brunette caught herself being woken up by the sun's light as it struck her right in the eyes. She groaned, pulling the comforter over her face before returning back to peaceful sleep.

She awoke a full hour later to the noise of toys being played with along with the smell of breakfast. She slowly rose out of her bed looking towards the digital clock sitting on her desk next to her torchic plush.

The clock read 9:13 AM.

She considered going back asleep again since it wasn't a school day but she abandoned the thought knowing that her mother or more likely her neighbor would come around sooner or later to wake her up.

She slowly got off her bed and grabbed a change of clothes from her drawers. Since she was going on a fieldwork trip again, she had decided to wear an outfit similar to the one she had worn the day before. She made her way to the bathroom where she brushed her teeth, washed her face, and combed through her messy bed head. She then quickly changed into her outfit and headed downstairs, the memories of the previous day still fresh on her mind.

* * *

"Oh my goodness May! You look like you were in mud wrestling contest!" Caroline exclaimed once her daughter had entered the dining room after a long day of fieldwork.

Although she had changed clothes and rinsed off, there were still large mud stains all over her body and specially in her hair.

"Yuck! May you look nasty," her younger brother said holding his nose with his hand in disgust.

She shot him a halfhearted glare before she responded with, "well Brendan pushed me into a mud puddle and we had a mud battle."

Her mother had a blank expression on her face for a moment before she said, "well, I bet that's not how you expected your fieldwork day to go. Why don't you go upstairs and take a bath while I get dinner ready?"

May was all too ready to take a bath, as she rushed upstairs to her bathroom to rid herself of the mud.

As she was laying in the bath, she come to the realization knew she was covered in more mud that she had initially thought. The water in the bath had turned a light brown color, almost the same color as her hair when she began washing herself. She spent the next half hour washing herself until she was sure that all the mud was gone and got dressed in her pajamas.

She wondered about the moment Brendan and she had back on top of the tree. Perhaps he remembered it or perhaps he had forgotten it all after all the excitement. She shook her head frantically trying to rid herself of the thought. She didn't know what had come over her at that time, all she knew was that she was feeling tired and Brendan just happened to be there for her to lean against.

One thing was for certain however. After her horrible experience today with pokemon, she was more than convinced that she didn't want to be trainer when she graduated from school. Well at least that's what she told herself, although part of her hated to admit it, she had quite a bit of fun today even through the experience.

* * *

She made her way downstairs where her mother was setting up the table while Max was in the living room playing with his pretend pokemon. Brendan had often come over on his days off and he taught Max about the pokemon toys he had. He had explained what pokemon they were, what type they were, where you could find them, and what they evolved into.

Max absorbed everything like a sponge as his interest in pokemon grew to the point where he wanted to follow Brendan to his fieldwork, but due to his age he couldn't yet. May knew without a doubt that her brother would want to be a pokemon trainer and that made her happy yet a bit sad on the inside.

She was happy that her brother already had clear goals in his head for when he grew up, but she was sad because she couldn't figure out what she wanted to do.

"Good morning honey," she heard her mother say as she was laying breakfast on the table. "My, don't you just look like a little scientist!"

"Good morning mom," May greeted twirling around so her mother could get a full view of her outfit. She sat down on the table in front of her serving soon after.

Max was quick to come over and offer his less than enthusiastic greeting as well. "Oh, good morning sis," he said in a teasing tone not offering her his full attention.

"Good morning to you little bro," with a fake smile. The siblings argued quite often specially over the subject of pokemon. It didn't help May's case that when they tried to settle an argument by playing video games, she would be the one to lose most of the time. But when she did win, she would rub it in his face for the rest of day while he sulked saying 'he went easy on her.'

Despite their constant arguments, the two loved each other like any other brother and sister would do. They each had each other's backs if something bad happened to one of them, however that sibling protection didn't extend when their neighbor would tease May. May would absolutely hate it when her neighbor and brother teamed up to cause her trouble. She specially didn't appreciate the pranks. Most of them were harmless ones since Brendan could sometimes be evil, but he wasn't a monster.

"So, May, you think you will like today's fieldwork?" Her mother asked as she was eating at the table along with her children.

"Umm… as long as Brendan doesn't push me into a mud puddle to hide me from a horde of angry poochyena it should be fine." She had already begun stuffing her face.

"Will the professor be going with you today?"

"Nah Brendan said that the Professor will be busy today at the lab, so it it'll just be the two of us."

Her mother gave the girl a sly grin. The girl was all too familiar with that grin. She already felt her stomach retch. "Oh, is that so… it will be like a date then. Good for you May. I see that you guys are getting serious."

The mother had begun tapping her fingers maliciously on the table as her grin grew wider.

"Mom what's a date?" Max asked as he stopped eating to enter the conversation.

"Well Max, you see when a boy and a girl-" she began before she was cut off by an embarrassed daughter.

"Mom! Stop! Brendan and I aren't going on a date! It's just fieldwork nothing more!" She exclaimed as her face was growing a bright shade of red. She had slammed her hands on the table in an effort to reassert her point.

Her mom could only laugh seeing her expression as Max was giving them a confused look. Her mother took pity on her and decided to drop the subject by asking a safer question.

"So, May, do you know when he will come over?"

She paused for a moment relieved that her mother would no longer keep the date matter up. She took a quick calming breath and said, "he said to meet him by the town's exit to Route 101 around noon and we would head out."

"Mom can't I go with them today? I really want to see pokemon," Max nearly begged as he ran to his mother's side and gave her his puppy dogs eyes hoping to convince her.

Although Caroline would have loved to have her son go with May, she knew he was still too young and couldn't let him out into the woods even if Brendan was with them.

"Max, I already told you. You're too young for that. When you get older you can go ok?" she asked, patting her son on the head.

"But mom it's so boring here. I wanna have some fun with the pokemon."

"Oh come on Max. It's not too boring. Why don't we have a mother son day?"

"I guess," he began dropping his head staring at the floor. "May is so lucky," he muttered through his breath although no one else could hear him.

"Make sure you're ready by noon then May, you wouldn't want to be late to your date," Caroline giggled in the background.

May couldn't force a comeback as her mother had already left the room with Max trailing behind her. _Geez why does everyone think that Brendan and I are some sort of couple._

She made her way outside to be greeted with the cool October air along with the sun that was high in the sky. She had already packed all her supplies like the day before and she looked clean and presentable, but she wasn't sure how long that would last with her neighbor around.

She walked to the town's exit where she saw her neighbor standing at the exit, reading a book while Skipper was sitting on his head like always. He looked completely absorbed in his book that he didn't notice a familiar brown-haired girl sneaking behind him with a smirk on her face.

She harshly grabbed his shoulders and yelled out a loud "Boo!" which caused not only him to jump up in fright but the water type as well. His book fell to the floor from the shock and he quickly spun around to see who the perpetrator was.

His shoulders relaxed when he spotted his neighbor laughing at his reaction and picked up his book. Skipper was still laying on his head scared out his wits to the point he didn't spray May immediately.

"Geez May, don't sneak up on me like that," he sighed, putting his book inside his backpack.

"I just ha couldn't ha help it," she managed to get out as her hands were clutching her stomach from all the laughter. "Your reaction was priceless, I wish I would've gotten a picture of that because you-" she never got to finish as she felt the familiar cool feeling of water on her face.

This time the tables had turned as she heard laughter coming from her neighbor as she wiped the water out of her face.

"Ugh Skipper! Why must you always ruin my fun?" She asked giving him a glare. The water type merely shrugged and turned to look away.

"Now I wish I had a camera so I could have caught that," the brown-haired boy said with his hands on his stomach. Skipper was offering his own snickers as well which only added salt to the wound.

"Oh ha ha you're hilarious," she responded back sarcastically already taking her towel out to dry herself.

As soon as his laughing fit died and she dried herself off he asked, "so ready to go? I can't promise we won't be chased by poochyena today though," rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah let's go." she pulled her towel away and moved to walk shoulder to shoulder with her neighbor towards the woods.

He explained how today they would be observing the pokemon that come a nearby creek as well as their interactions. He promised they wouldn't be chased today, but that they should still be careful as you couldn't know what would happen. They made their way through the large trees of all kinds as well as smaller creeks before reaching the one the boy told her about.

* * *

"Brendan why are we wearing these silly hats again?" she whispered as she looked at the hat the boy had given her earlier. It was a hat that had the appearance of a baseball cap on the bottom, but at the top it was lined with numerous leaves that had a similar appearance to the bushes. She looked over to the boy who had his own hat on and his two pokemon that also had their own little silly hats on.

"I told you May. These hats will help us camouflage better and hopefully get us in closer proximity to the pokemon without us disturbing them," observing his clipbaord and the zizzagoon frolicking in the creek through the bushes.

"I still think these hats are stupid," she replied.

"Would you rather I paint your face and body to look like the bushes then?"

"No," she fired back.

"Then don't complain about the hats." His attention still on the pokemon.

"Fine," she sighed, grabbing her own clipboard to take her own notes. Brendan had told her to take notes on any sort of movements that the pokemon made such has how they moved their legs, shook their heads, reacted to others of their kind, reactions to other pokemon species and a ton of other things she couldn't recall at the moment.

"Why can't we just get close to them? Pretty sure they wouldn't mind. They don't look violent." She turned to face him.

He quickly responded back with, "well May, many pokemon act differently when there's humans around, so if we would go over to them, their behavior could be drastically different than the one we are seeing right now. I'm not saying that we can't interact with them, just saying that for this observation it's best to keep our distance and observe from afar."

She hadn't gotten much interaction with pokemon other than the boy's pokemon and the poochyena from yesterday. Part of her wanted to interact with other pokemon yet she was afraid that the pokemon wouldn't like her.

"Pretty sure that pair over there is a male and female," he said eyeing and pointing towards of pair of zigzagoon that were looking at each other.

"How can you tell?" she asked. To her they looked exactly the same.

"Well male and female zigzagoon have a different number of stripes. Why don't you try counting them?"

She did as suggested and counted the number of fur stripes the pokemon had. She realized that one had a greater number than the other, but before she could say anything a hand slapped over her eyes and she heard, "yep, that's definitely a male and female."

After a quick lunch between the pair and the pokemon May asked Brendan on what other pokemon lived in the area.

"Well the most common pokemon are poochyena, zigzagoon and wurmple," he paused as he was gathering his stuff back. "I have also seen some other pokemon such as zorua, lillipup and sewaddle and in a really rare case I saw a ralts."

May racked her brain for the pokemon the boy mentioned, when she couldn't come up with anything she said, "I've never heard of those pokemon before."

"I'm not surprised. Those pokemon don't generally live in this area. Ralts for the most part live in Route 102 but sometimes pokemon do migrate. As for the other three... well those are bit harder to describe," stopping to stretch out. "They're actually pokemon from the Unova region so maybe someone introduced them to the region or maybe I was just hallucinating who knows."

"My guess is that you were finally going insane," she giggled as she eyed her neighbor.

"Ha ha you're so funny," he said sarcastically. He slung his backpack over his shoulders and said, "we should probably be going to the next pokemon now."

"What pokemon is next? And do we have to keep wearing the hats?"

"The next pokemon might require us to climb some trees to get a better look, they live on trees although they also crawl on the ground, and we probably won't be needing the hats."

"Are those the wurmple?" she asked as she too strapped her fanny pack on her waist. She wasn't exactly ecstatic about having to see wurmple, but it was better than a poochyena.

"Yep now let's go," he said as he lead the way deeper into the forest. May was quick to follow after him as she didn't have the best sense of direction and getting lost wasn't on her bucket list.

The boy lead their way deeper into the forest where the trees gradually got larger. The sun had been making its way across the sky and was now laying on the western half of the sky indicating that it was around midafternoon. He stopped when he caught sight of a large Maple tree, even larger than the one from yesterday and eyed it for a minute.

"I've noticed that the wurmple seem to like maple trees the most, so this will be a good spot to find some," he said as she lowered in backpack and took his clipboard out.

"They're not violent, are they?" wary that perhaps some pokemon would attack her.

"Nah don't worry about them. They're really gentle, they're just a bit slimy so it may feel weird if you touch one or if they touch you."

"Oh good, I didn't want to be attacked again. Speaking of being attacked, have you been attacked before?"

"Well… a couple of times. Mainly because of my dad," he paused for a moment before bursting out in laughter. "For a pokemon professor, he doesn't get along well with wild ones. It actually isn't the first time Dad was bitten in the backside. He was bitten by six poochyena if I'm counting."

"Seriously? The Professor was attacked that much?" She tried to hold her laughter but couldn't as she started laughing as well.

"Yep, just so you know that first poochyena that bit him actually took a liking to him, and followed us back to town. That's where I caught him and dad takes care of him."

"Brendan! You never told me you caught another pokemon." She eyed him curiously.

"Well I did catch him, but Dad is the one that takes care of him so it's basically his pokemon. He did let me nickname him though."

"Really? What did you nickname him?" She asked with greater curiosity in her voice.

"Well I named him Toto after the famous poochyena that appeared in that old movie about the Unovan girl," rubbing the back of head in slight embarrassment.

"Oh yeah I've watched that one. I really like it, especially the part where she dropped the house on the witch."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "May, out of all parts of the movie, I thought your favorite would have been when she goes back home not when she drops the house on the witch."

"Well I guess you don't really know me that well then," she teased holding back giggles.

"Right… getting back on the subject of the poochyena, he's actually really gentle and he hangs around the lab all the time. You can check him out the next time you stop by," he suggested. "Now let's spot those wurmple."

He looked up at the large trees seeing if he could spot any movement. Wurmples were generally slow moving and gentle so they could sometimes be hard to spot. However, their coloration made them easy to pick out from their surroundings. When he didn't spot any movement at all, the boy assumed that the tree was probably devoid of the pokemon or they were all napping. Since the cool air from the fall and winter months did not appeal to the worm pokemon, many stayed tucked inside their trees with some weaving their cocoons in preparation for evolution until the warmer weather returned.

"Spot anything?" May asked walking up to stand next to the boy who was eyeing the tree.

"Nope, it seems like they are all tucked inside because of the cool weather, but we may be lucky in finding one on the floor so let's take a look." He began to walk and look into the bushes and trees to see if they could spot a pink pokemon, but to no avail.

As the sun began to drop into the horizon May asked Brendan if they should call it a day. He noticed the dropping sun over the horizon and agreed it would be best.

"So, May how did you like this day of fieldwork?" he asked as they walked back to town.

"Well it wasn't as exciting as yesterday, but it was more informative, perhaps I can do this more often."

"Glad to hear it, I'll be more than happy to have you tag along if you want," he said with a bright smile although it was slightly hard to see through the dimming light.

May had a strange feeling that she couldn't describe, boil up in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know what this feeling was but she pushed it aside as the pair arrived in town. Brendan walked her home before saying their goodbyes.

May saw his retreating figure enter his own home before she opened her door to enter hers. Her mother was the first to greet her along with Max who seemed disheartened. Perhaps their mother son day didn't turn out quite the way they had hoped it did.

Her mother had already made dinner and everyone sat down to eat. May noticed the grin growing on her mother's face and she was afraid.

"So, May…" she began. "How was your date?" she covered her mouth with her hands and held back laughter like a highschool girl talking about love when she saw her daughter's expression.

"Mom!" she fired back. "I told you it wasn't a date, just fieldwork. Very boring and informative fieldwork."

Max decided now was the best of times to ask the same question he asked in the morning. "Mom what's a date and why are May and Brendan in one?" he asked with curiosity in his eyes.

"Well Max, when a boy and a girl like each other then-" she was stopped again at the same spot by her daughter.

May yelled out, "Mom, stop! Max is too young for that," she pleaded as her face grew a deeper shade of red.

Caroline realized that she was teasing May maybe a bit too much and changed the subject, "So May did you learn anything while you were out there?"

She felt relieved that her mother would no longer continue as she calmed the redness in her face and began telling her about what they did today. From observing the zigzagoon, to looking for wurmples, to the stories Brendan told her about the professor's squabbles with pokemon as well as the pokemon he had.

"Looks like you certainly had a great day May. Who knows, maybe you would like be a pokemon researcher?" Caroline asked as she was putting her dishes away.

"Umm… I don't know mom," she responded with. She was still extremely unsure of what she wanted to do after all.

At the Birch residence Lisa and Brendan were having a similar conversation. Lisa had her hands over her mouth laughing as she observed her son's red face.

"Mom I already told you it wasn't a date!" His voiced raised maybe a bit too high.

This time Professor Birch joined in on the teasing making his son's face a darker shade of red.

"You guys suck," he sighed trying to ignore his parent's comments.

* * *

An: so that's pretty much it for this chapter. Since I said their ages last chapter and this takes place the day after I don't think the ages need to be said again. Look forward to the next chapter, it's pretty sweet and as always I hope to see you guys next update!


	17. New Years

Hi everyone and welcome back to chapter seventeen of this story. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 17: New Years

With the beginning of another holiday season came the end of another year. The trees had foregone their leaves leaving their bare branches on display and who would have believed that it had actually snowed in Hoenn of all places!

May could say that she had an exceptional year especially when it came to school. Ever since the 'cheating' incident years ago, the girl was determined to do her best in her school time which earned her high marks on her exams.

She was extremely surprised when her teacher called her in congratulating the girl on her high achievements. She knew she was doing well, but not this well.

Her study habits had completely flipped over. In the past she had a hard time focusing and absorbing the information mainly because she kept getting distracted by everything. But now, she knew how to effectively study to the point where she didn't need Brendan's help anymore.

She remembered the very first times he had tutored her and how he would get irritated at her. The main reason he had gotten irritated was because the girl would not focus on the material then later complain about her low scores, which he would sometimes respond by giving May a soft whack to the head. Now they could probably spend an entire evening studying without any interruptions apart from their parents coming in occasionally and his pokemon.

Another goal she had made the previous year was to not make them late for school anymore, but that had fallen flat the day they had returned from their winter vacation. Brendan had given her a good whack on the head and May pretended that it had hurt despite the fact that it didn't. Brendan never really hit with much force, although the scientists working at the lab said so otherwise.

A couple more lessons from Mrs. Birch taught the young brunette how to become a better cook. She definitely wasn't first class, but she wasn't bad either. She had often opted to making dinner for her family while also helping out her mom when needed. Perhaps she would consider being a chef once she was older. Maybe.

She also begun to recall the fact that she had joined her neighbor on some of his fieldwork and she had learned quite a bit when it came to pokemon which helped her even further in school. She learned a bit about how the pokemon were distributed, their eating habits, their growth rates, their breeding rituals, eggs, and attacks.

But despite all this, the girl was still unsure on what she wanted to do when she grew up. As a child, the prospect of traveling around the region with pokemon seemed absolutely repulsive, but now that she knew more, that idea was slowly fading away. It's not to say that she didn't forget her original goal of wanting to shop and eat at the best restaurants, but as she kept growing up, her mind had gotten progressively clouded with uncertainties.

Unfortunately for her, she began seeing her neighbor less and less. As he got older, the professor had been giving his son tasks that required more from him so he was often away doing what May called 'nerd stuff.'

Sure, they saw each other when she accompanied him on his fieldwork and school, but other than that he was busy helping his father with his research and he had been given more responsibility in helping raise the starter pokemon for new trainers.

She yearned for a day they could play together like they did when they were younger. Although she lost the majority of games they played, she still enjoyed spending time with him. Maybe it was selfish of her to think like that, after all if she wanted to spend more time with him, she would have to take time away from his father to spend with her.

There was also the fact that she felt strangely comfortable around him and an indescribable feeling gnawed at her stomach when she was with him.

"So May why don't we go ring the bell?" The brown-haired boy standing next to her asked. Since the lab was closed due to the holiday season, Brendan had a lot more free time in hand. Unfortunately, he chose to spend said free time with his pokemon and studying rather than with May which slightly disheartened the girl.

Since it was a much colder day, and snow was lightly falling, he was wearing dark blue jeans, a white t-shirt placed below a black winter coat and a light blue scarf May had given him that year for Christmas. He also wore a black pair of boots and a Mario hat he had won earlier by playing festival trivia (when it came to trivia, no one could beat the boy).Naturally, his pokemon were snugly tucked inside his coat as they didn't want to miss any of the celebrations.

They had forgone their traditional new year's clothes this years since they thought they were 'too old' for them and that wearing them was for kids. Their parents, however kept their traditional clothes on for the celebrations.

May had spent all morning picking out the outfit she was going to wear. She didn't want to greet the new year looking unpresentable. She was wearing a dark blue skirt over her black leggings. She also wore a warm dark green winter coat that kept her warm despite the cold weather. She had also decided to wear her black snow boots along with the beige colored scarf and snow cap Brendan gave her that Christmas.

"Yeah let's go!" she responded as she followed him into the shrine.

The Petalburg Shrine was the biggest attraction during this time of the year. It was place where people could pray to the pokemon of their choosing and make their new year's wishes. It was a tradition that had originated in Johto thousands of years ago and it soon spread to Kanto. The same tradition was then spread to Sinnoh and then Hoenn where they took roots while the same couldn't be said for other regions such as Unova, Kalos. Those three regions had their own way of celebrating the new year that didn't involve a visit to the shrine. Alola had somewhat adopted the traditions since many of its people had originated from Johto and Kanto, but it wasn't as widely practiced as it was in the four other regions.

"Or so that's what the history books say," Brendan informed May as they made their deeper into the festivities. They arrived at the shrine a couple minutes later.

The shrine was brightly lit with lamps and lanterns as the pair approached it. The walls shone in a bright red while the roof was colored grey. There were already hundreds of wooden and colorful paper plaques slung upon the shrine's walls, and trees.

May always got some sort of nostalgic feeling when visiting the building, but she could never recall as to why she felt like that.

"Looks like we are gonna be waiting for a while huh May?" Brendan asked as he made his way in front of a long line that lead to the shrine's bell. "Let's wash our hands first," he suggested.

They walked over to the large water basin where multiple wooden ladles lay on top of the water's surface. They spotted countless of people already there washing their hands. It's said that the washing of one's hands cleaned someone of their impurities.

They each took a ladle with their right hands and poured the cold water over left hand. They switched the ladle to their left hand and poured water over their right hand. From there they took some water in their left hand and rinsed their mouths. They poured the remaining water off the ladle and placed them back on the basin. (A/N: this is the Misogi ritual that's performed at Shinto temples/shrines)

"That water was much colder than expected. Let's make our way back in line, looks like we are gonna be a here a while," he said as the two made their way back in line.

"Looks like we are," she sighed, moving to stand next to him. "Say Brendan do you always pray to the same pokemon each year?"

"Umm… I actually pray to different pokemon each year," he began. "The first time I visited the shrine I prayed to Latios and Latias in hopes that they would bring me luck and I've been praying to different pokemon since. How about you?"

"Oh… I actually pray to the same pokemon each year," she managed to say as she eyed the large line that was getting slightly shorter.

"What pokemon is it that you pray to then?"

"Well it's Arceus, you know because of all the legends that surround it."

"Not a bad choice May, but I heard that each pokemon brings different things and the more you pray to different pokemon the more likely you are to have good fortune."

"Really?" she asked as her eyes began to twinkle. "And how would you know this? You're not some sort of shrine priest."

"Easy May, that guy standing over there said so when I first visited here," he smiled, pointing towards an older man wearing a traditional white shrine priest uniform.

"Oh," she lamely responded. Well if the shrine priest said so then it must be true, or it could just be mumbo jumbo.

"Well it is just an old saying, but it wouldn't hurt to pray to others. I know why don't you pray to Giratina?" He joked. A playful smirk had grown on his face.

"Don't say things like that Brendan!" she fired back. Her face had adopted an expression of horror.

Even though May didn't know much about Giratina, Brendan had told her how Sinnoh's folktales always depicted it as a pokemon that was vastly revered with destruction and violence and anyone that followed was cursed with bad luck. Naturally she believed it to be all mumbo jumbo, but she couldn't help but feel scared.

"I'm just kidding May." He began as he started snickering. "Seriously May. We've known each other for seven years now, you should already know when I'm kidding and when I'm being serious," he said as his snickers calmed down.

"Well excuse me Mr. Joker, but sometimes you sound so serious that I can't tell if you're joking or being serious." She paused for a moment as she thought about what pokemon to pray to. There were just so many that she couldn't figure out which one would be the best.

"Say Brendan what pokemon are you praying for this year?" she asked as she looked up to see him again. Over the past two years May had lost her height difference and now Brendan was pushing ahead of her. When May had accompanied Brendan to one of his fieldwork trips, the boy was barely pushing ahead of May. Now a year later he was pushing upwards even more and she just knew he would just keep getting taller. If the boy was anything like his father, then she knew that he was probably going to grow as tall as him or even taller.

"I was originally gonna pray to Cresselia for good dreams, but I changed my mind to Victini since it is the victory pokemon. It's said that Victini brings great luck and victory to those who pray to it so I thought it would be a good choice," he said as the line moved forward.

"That's actually a good idea, thanks Brendan," she thanked him giving him a bright smile.

"No problem. Oh, but have you thought about what you want to ask it for?" he asked as they moved further up the line. "Maybe you would want to ask Victini for a great school year, or maybe a great work year, or a great relationship…" he said as his face grew a shade of red.

May hadn't noticed as she was deep in thought. _Well we are gonna be going through our last months of school this upcoming year so it would be great to ask for some great final months. But wait! Did he actually say great relationship? What does he mean by that? Does he mean that I should ask for luck in a relationship or luck that a relationship will last for a long time? Or maybe he meant a different thing entirely, like a family relationship and not a romantic one. Why did he have to be so vague,_ she pondered before she felt a hand land on her shoulder and she looked up to see her smirking neighbor.

He had lost his redness as he teased her, "or you know May, maybe you can ask Victini to finally release you of the curse of being bad at video games."

"Oh shut up!" she exclaimed as she shot him a small glare. "The only reason why you win is because you're cheating."

"Really May? Am I that good that you think I'm cheating?" His smirk was growing wider.

She had gotten better over the past years of playing with him on occasion, but she never understood as to why she never managed to win a game against him. She had often practiced in secret when he was away on trips with the AI and she had managed to pull wins all the time with the AI. Granted she had always set the AI on easy mode instead of something like very hard or expert mode, but to her it counted as a win regardless. All her hopes came crashing to the ground when Brendan would easy sweep her with minimal effort. At this point the only reason she could think of was because he was somehow exploiting the system making it so that he would win each time while leaving May in the dust. Brendan had joked that it was something beyond bad luck and called it a 'curse'. Whether it was true or not was up for debate.

"Just shut it Brendan before I punch you," she threatened.

"I don't know May. I almost always manage to dodge your punches and besides we're almost there," he commented as they were near the shrine bell.

May faced forward to see the people in front of them leave which revealed a large white rope attached to a large golden bell. To the sides hung various talismans meant to ward off evil spirits and bring luck.

May took a coin from her bag while Brendan took a coin from his wallet as well. They quietly tossed it into the offering box. They both then rang the bell then bowed twice. From there they clapped their hands twice in front of her face and while their hands were still together they prayed to the pokemon of their choice. Their hands dropped as they finished their prayer and bowed once more before leaving the altar for the next people to pray.

"Why don't we get our fortunes now," he suggested as they left the altar and into back onto the shrine's grounds. "By the way what pokemon did you pray to? Was it Darkrai?" he teased.

"Ugh Brendan you and your jokes," she said sounding exasperated. "And if you must know, I prayed to Victini as well, you know for luck and victory."

"That's great to hear, now let's get our fortunes."

He walked over to a stall with a tall black-haired man wearing a black kimono which made him look intimidating. He was over watching the fortune stall. Brendan was the first to get his as he paid and grabbed a small tube of rolled up paper. May was next as she did the same, carrying the tube of paper in their hands.

They quickly opened them up revealing the contents inside. To their surprise they didn't find a fortune but rather found poems written by famous historical leaders from Hoenn's past.

"I guess the poems are supposed to be our fortunes this year," Brendan said as he was examining what his poem said.

"I guess so, I can't really understand mine though," May replied as she too examined her poem.

"Let me see it then," holding his hand out so to May so she could give him the fortune. She also held her hand out wanting to know what his fortune said and they exchanged them.

After a moment Brendan said, "well to me it looks like it's saying you will have a great year full of happiness. Good for you, I'm slightly jealous."

"Maybe I'm just lucky then. Your fortune doesn't seem as bad either. It looks like it's saying you will meet new people and pokemon." She handed him back his fortune as she did the same.

"Looks like it will be great year for both of us then," offering her his signature grin.

She blushed for a moment before she suggested going to get their good luck charms. They both walked over to the stall selling them and each bought one for the upcoming year.

From there Brendan suggested they write out their wish on the wooden plaques that were hanging around the shrine. They made their way to a table where each got a plaque and started writing their wishes down.

Brendan had tried to peek at May's wish, but was sent back when she glared back. He offered her a smile before returning to writing his own wish. After they were done they hung their plaques on the shrine walls then made their way back to the city.

"So May what did you wish for?" Brendan asked as he was eating a large crepe.

"It's none of your business," she said as she took a large bite out of her grilled corn.

"Oh, could it possibly be something embarrassing such finding that knight in shining armor you told me about when we were younger," he teased with a raised eyebrow. He had put on his hands on his waist in a teasing fashion.

May's face grew red at his comment as she immediately fired back. "No! I didn't wish for anything dumb like that. And what did you wish for then mister?"

"Oh" he paused for a moment. "As corny as it sounds I wished for everyone around me stay strong and healthy and live long lives," he lied, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Really Brendan? You wished for something like that?" she teased him as her eyebrow was now raised.

"Well yeah. I told you my wish so it's your turn to fess up."

"No way."

* * *

"Should we head back to the gym then? I think your dad must be done with his new year's speech," Brendan asked as he finished the last of his large hamburger.

"I guess so… It's beginning to get a really chilly out here," May said. She wrapped her arms around herself to keep herself warmer as a cold breeze swept through the area.

The area of the city they were in was lined with many street stalls that sold all kinds of street food. Brendan had made it his mission to try the food from each stall as his dad was finally paying him quite well for his fieldwork and lab assistance, and so far he was doing a great job as only a single vendor remained. He even offered May some but she denied saying she was feeling full from the enormous feast they had earlier that evening.

Brendan could only raise his eyebrow like he couldn't believe May was denying food.

"May are you feeling alright? Has an evil spirit possessed you? Should I call the shrine priest to cleanse you of evil spirits?" he teased as he placed his hand on her forehead to check if she had a fever.

She slapped his hand away in a quick motion fuming, "Yes Brendan I'm alright. I'm still full from dinner."

She turned away to face away from him. She was actually a bit hungry, but she would have felt guilty if he bought food for her even if he was offering.

"Whatever you say then," he said before lining up in front of the stand.

May stayed behind and watched as the boy made his order. She could barely hear his frantic order as the noise from the crowd had drowned the area. For as long as she could remember the boy was always a huge eater. She had never met anyone else that ate more than she did and that was saying something.

"Sis are you and Brendan done with your date?" she heard a very familiar voice say.

She turned around to be greeted with dark hair and a large pair of glasses. He was wearing a simple black kimono that her parents had forced on him and a white and black haori over it. He was also carrying a caramel apple on his left hand.

She could feel her face growing red and looked back to see that Brendan still in front of the line talking with the stall vendor. She was relieved when she saw that he didn't appear to notice the comment her younger brother made.

"Max it was not a date," she gripped as she eyed her brother. "And who told you we were on a date anyway?"

She already knew who had told her brother that so she didn't know why she was even asking.

"Mom did." He paused as he took a bite out his apple. "She said you and Brendan went on a date to the shrine."

May sighed as she got closer to her brother and crouched down ready to give him some advice from an older sister.

"Max, you never tell mom about things such as love. She will embarrass you until you die and give you some weird ideas. So when you fall in love with a girl make sure you never tell her or she will start planning your wedding."

"Why would I love a girl? Girls are gross," he snapped as he took another bite of his apple.

May could only sigh and snicker knowing that Max's perspective of the opposite gender would change once he was older.

"Hey Max," she heard a familiar muffled voice say from behind her. She turned around to see her neighbor already gorging himself on the food he had bought. He was carrying a large paper bag in one hand while his other was helping him eat. She could also see the two pokemon inside his jacket happily munching as well.

"Hey big bro," Max responded with a high five. To Max, Brendan was like the big brother he wanted. Brendan would occasionally play with Max on his free time and the two had developed a brotherly bond even though they weren't related by blood.

"Want some?" Brendan asked Max as he took a small black plastic container out his bag.

"What are they?" Max asked as he eyed the contents inside.

"They're dumplings. Never had one? They're pretty good," he continued as he handed Max the container. Max took it then opened it up smelling its goodness. The young then picked one out and tried it showing his surprise by the widening of his eyes as he took another and continued eating. He then turned to face May and took another large black container out his bag.

"Here May this is for you," he said as he held the container for May.

"Brendan, I already told you, I'm not hungry," she snapped trying to keep her voice from showing the hunger she was actually feeling.

He raised an eyebrow. "Really May? You think I didn't hear your stomach grumble back there?" He joked as he held the container closer to the brunette.

"Really you could tell I was lying?" she asked as she eyed him quizzically.

"Yep! So here, my treat for the new year," he said he placed the container on her hands.

"I'll pay you back," she said as she opened the container and ate the assorted food inside. She did say she was trying not to rely on him too much so the least she could do was pay him back.

"Nah don't worry about it," he said in a muffled voice as he was practically swallowing his food.

May wasn't about to let this go as she was going to make sure to do something nice for him like he had with her. She thought of maybe getting him another pokedoll, or perhaps another scarf would be nice as well she pondered.

"By the way you two, mom said to come to the gym as the fireworks show will start soon," Max said as he finished the last of his dumplings.

"Right," they both said as they finished eating their meal. They quickly followed behind Max as they made their way to the gym. The best view of the fireworks show was seen from atop or in front of the gym.

They made it just in time as their parents were already standing in front of the gym and the sudden boom of fireworks and colorful light filled the sky. They rushed over to stand over to their parents giving each other their yearly "Happy New Year's Congratulations."

The show continued as bright figures of pokemon such as pikachu, eevee, treecko, torchic, mudkip, plusle and minun filled the sky.

* * *

Back at the shrine, a sudden cold strong wind flipped two wooden wish plaques. The plaques revealed that both writers wrote.

The plaque on the right read, "I wish for the courage and luck needed to make it through another year… courage so that I can confess my feelings as well." The bottom right corner had the initials BB written on it.

The plaque to the right read, "I wish for courage so I can tell someone how I feel about them." The bottom left corner had the initials MM as well.

* * *

An: My biggest fear for this chapter was something along the lines of "oh my God people are gonna think I'm a weeb," which I'm not, but I wasn't able to do as much research as I wanted to on the topic of Japanese customs of prayer due to time constraints, so there will probably be a lot of inaccuracies. Our pair's ages for this chapter:

Brendan- 12

May- 12

As always hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter and hope to see you again in the next one!


	18. Graduation

Hi everyone and welcome back to this story. This chapter will be another school chapter which I havent done since chapter seven so it's been quite a while. Enjoy!

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Chapter 18- Graduation

The bathroom door opened revealing the figure of a brown-haired boy wearing his dark blue school uniform pants while having a towel draped over his shoulders. Ever since he turned ten, the school dictated that all male students wear pants instead of shorts like when they were younger.

A water type pokemon walked besides him with his head wrapped in a towel while a dragon type also exited the bathroom with his towel wrapped around him so he could dry himself.

Brendan walked over to his bed where his white school dress shirt laid on top, along with his red necktie and his dark blue school blazer. He wasn't exactly ecstatic about the prospect of wearing so many dark colors while it was supposed to be hot and humid outside, but he knew that once the ceremony was over he could change into more comfortable clothes.

Under normal circumstances he would have foregone the blazer and only worn his white shirt, but due to the school's strict dress code when it came to graduation, he had no other choice but to comply.

He grabbed the towel from his shoulders and began drying his hair again. As he was drying he said in a serious voice, "Skipper make sure you don't spray May during the ceremony or she will be furious."

"Mud mud kip," the water type responded looking sulky that his trainer had denied him his greatest happiness.

"Hey, don't look so down buddy," Brendan said as he crouched down to pet his pokemon on the head. "If it makes you feel better, you can spray her once the ceremony is over."

"Mudkip! Mudkip!" the water type yelled as he jumped up and down in happiness.

"Bag bag on," he heard his bagon say in background.

"Don't worry Drake I didn't forget about you," he said as he walked over to the dragon type and gently patted him on the head earning delightful coos from him.

As soon as he was done with his pokemon, Brendan walked back to his bed where he grabbed his white shirt and put it on with careful precision. He made sure that all buttons were they were supposed to be as to not have himself looking unpresentable. He then grabbed his red necktie and walked over to his mirror making sure that it was the appropriate length when he was done with it.

From there he put on his black socks then walked over to his desk where an open binder laid on top with the top page reading 'Valedictorian speech.'

The entire desk looked like a mess with sheets of papers scattered everywhere, most of them having messy handwriting and black scratch marks with his trash can overflowing with crumpled up paper balls.

He had been trying to write his speech for the class, but he was honestly having an immense amount of trouble on deciding on what he would say so he had written perhaps hundreds of drafts before deciding on which one he would ultimately go with.

He sat down where he begun reading it over one more time and said, "alright that sounds perfect,". He then grabbed his blazer off the bed and took it downstairs where his parents were already getting ready.

Professor Birch decided to take the day off today, or rather his wife had forced him to take the day off in order to see his son and neighbor graduate.

"I wonder if May is already awake," Brendan wondered quietly to himself as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"I hope she doesn't make us late today, of all days."

* * *

May was woken up by the sound of multiple alarm clocks that Brendan has set up for her the day prior. She groaned as she hit the snooze buttons and covered herself back up with her comforter.

 _Why does he have to set all those to wake me up so early anyway? I did promise to wake up early for once_ she thought to herself as she laid on her bed in the relaxing silence. That silence however only lasted for five more minutes before the alarm clocks started blasting her room with an annoying beeping.

"I'm up! I'm up!" she yelled as she got out of bed, making sure to turn all the alarms off then stared at the wall where her school uniform was hanging. It was similar for the most part to the male uniform, other than the fact that instead of wearing pants the female uniform consisted of a long dark blue skirt.

She stared at the wall for a couple of minutes gathering her senses before slowly standing up and heading to her bathroom, her right hand carrying her uniform, while her left was in front of her mouth as she loudly yawned. She couldn't remember the last time she had woken up this early.

She took a quick shower and quickly got dressed inspecting herself in the mirror to make sure everything was in place. Like Brendan, she wasn't exactly ecstatic about wearing her blazer during the warmer months, but she had no other choice but to comply. She styled her brown hair into her usual short ponytail and upside-down V before patting herself on the face and saying, "alright let's do this."

She exited her bathroom entering her room noticing that the sun hadn't made its way onto the horizon. She thought if maybe she had been woken up too early, until she heard a loud knock on the door and her younger brother say, "Sis are you ready? Mom already has breakfast ready."

"Yeah, I'm ready," she responded as she opened the door, revealing the form of her younger brother already wearing his nice clothes instead of his usual green polo and brown shorts.

"About time already, come on let's go down," he said as he walked down the stairs into the dining room as May followed behind. Her mind was filled with many conflicting emotions. She was feeling happy, scared, excited, sad, and nervous about today.

"Good morning sweetie. Breakfast is ready," May heard her mother say as she was sitting on the table already eating her breakfast.

"Good morning mom," May responded as she took her own seat in front of her large plate.

"Don't you just look beautiful today?" Caroline asked once she got a full view of May. May only nodded at her comment before beginning to eat. "Oh, by the way your father will be meeting us at your school today."

"Oh that's great," she beamed excitedly.

* * *

"So Brendan how are you feeling?" Lisa asked as she placed another large plate in front of her son.

"I'm doing just fine mom," he responded as he was savagely eating his breakfast.

"How did that speech of yours turn out?" Birch asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

Brendan stopped for a moment thinking about what to say before saying, "well I think I did a pretty good job. It's not the best, but it's also not the worst. I just wanna get the whole thing over."

"If you're anything like me, then you should be fine," Birch answered as he took another sip of his coffee.

"I hope so," Brendan sighed as took another huge bite.

"Brendan make sure you don't spill anything over yourself, you already look so handsome. It would be a shame if you spilled something over yourself," Lisa said with slightly worry coating her voice.

"Don't worry mom, it'll be fine," he responded with in a tone that didn't reassure his mother.

"By the way, don't you think we should do something with your hair?" she asked as she eyed her son's messy hair.

"Nah, it looks fine Lisa, don't worry too much about it. He looks fine with his hair," Birch said knowing that his wife might go crazy like she does with cooking when she tries to fix Brendan's hair.

"It's fine mom," Brendan said holding his hands up in surrender while his mother gave him a look.

She sighed then said, "well if you're ok with it, then I have no problem. I'll carry around a comb and hair products in case you change your mind though."

"Thanks mom." He spoke as he ate the last of breakfast then took his plates to the kitchen and made his way back upstairs where his pokemon had made their way once they had eaten. He returned both of them to their pokeballs placing their balls on his belt and hiding it as he put on his blazer. Even at his age, the school still prohibited the students from bringing their own pokemon so he would have to hide their pokeballs. He was actually quite surprised that he hadn't been caught once. Well even if he had been caught, their school didn't have a strict policy when it came to bringing pokemon. The students would in most cases get a scolding and sent on their way, but there were always schools that had a much stricter policy.

"Brendan honey, we should probably be leaving soon if you don't want to be late," he heard his mother say from downstairs.

He nodded and glanced to his open binder with his speech. He walked over to his desk making a couple of mental notes as he sat down again to reread the documents. He glanced up momentarily to see the picture of three boys on his desk. A smile crossed his face as he remembered that time.

The picture had been taken the year prior as Brendan and the professor went to the annual researcher's convention held at the end of summer. Last year Jubilife City was hosting the convention and Brendan was more than eager to see a new city and region.

He couldn't dwell on the picture for too long as his parents were expecting him downstairs, but the boy on the right was Brendan with Skipper on his head like always. The boy in the center was Brendan's age with dark gray, almost black hair and dark blue eyes. The pokemon he had in his arms Brendan recognized as chimchar, who was named Sun. The boy to the left was taller and older than the other two. He had long black hair and gray eyes and the pokemon standing on his shoulder Brendan recognized as chespin who was named Chester. Brendan described their appearance as 'dandy' since they were all wearing dress pants and dress shirts. All three boys were wearing light blue dress shirts, but Brendan and the taller boy were wearing suspenders while the one in the middle was wearing a gray striped vest.

He laughed to himself for a moment and grabbed the binder of from his desk and began carefully reading it over again. He then made his way downstairs where his parents were already by the door ready to leave. He placed on his black dress shoes before going outside to be greeted by the warm moist air.

His dad was already inside the jeep while his mother was waiting for their neighbors to arrive which occurred just seconds later. Caroline, May and Max had made their way over giving Lisa and Brendan their greetings and making small talk. Everyone seemed to be on edge today, especially May and Brendan.

"So, you really woke up on time for once May," Brendan teased as the two began to talk.

"Well good morning to you too," she spoke in a sarcastic tone. This caused Brendan to crack a smile while May also cracked her own.

The two quickly climbed on the jeep along with their families as Professor Birch drove them to Petalburg. At this point everyone, except maybe Lisa, was used to his frantic driving so no one really complained. Lisa like always was hanging for dear life on to the handle afraid that she would fly out the window if she let go.

"So Brendan how did that speech of yours turnout?" Caroline asked as she looked over to the boy.

"Well Mrs. Maple it's not the best but not the worst. I just honestly want to get it over with," he responded rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well good luck. I know you'll do great," Caroline said with a huge smile on her face. Brendan returned the jester with his own smile and a nod.

The rest of the ride was rather noisy. It began with occasional small talk made by the parents while the children were playing word games. Well it was mainly Brendan and Max that were playing word games while May looked on, acting as a referee of sorts between the two. What started out as a small discussion about pokemon with the professor soon turned into and all out debate between Brendan and the professor on what pokemon would grow the best in a particular environment while everyone else looked at them like they were insane. Well except for Max as he looked on with admiration. Although May was somewhat interested in learning about pokemon, the level of information being said was enough to make her put her hands on her ears in an effort to block out the noise.

Good thing the car ride to their school was shorter than normal, which allowed May at least some relief from all the noise she had experienced. She and Brendan got off as the everyone else stayed behind so they could find a parking spot. Soon after the jeep drove into the school's parking lot hoping to find a space.

They seemed to have arrived just in time as the graduating students were already being lined up outside the school. They were being lined up according to last name, so Brendan would be near the front while May would be around the middle.

"So I'll see later then," Brendan said as he made his way towards his line.

"See ya then." May waved as she headed to find her own line.

"So Brendan are you ready for today?" a boy Brendan recognized as Tom Baker asked. He was slightly shorter than Brendan with tan skin and short black hair. The two had multiple classes together in the past so they were well acquainted.

"Heh, I think so Tom," he responded. "I just hope I don't mess anything up."

"You'll do fine, don't worry," Tom responded patting Brendan on the shoulder.

"Thanks," Brendan smiled as he faced forwards as the teacher was giving everyone directions.

"By the way Brendan," Tom began as Brendan turned around to face him. "Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Sure man what is it?" Brendan asked feeling slightly uneasy.

"Great! Do you know if the cute brown haired girl you come to school with is dating anyone? I really want to ask her out," Tom said. Brendan had a blank look on his face while his mind was running at a million miles an hour. The uneasy feeling from before turned into full anxiety as he tried to come up with a response to his question.

After a moment of gaining his composure he answered, "sorry man, but May is seeing someone else," he lied though he said it in a level tone in an effort to sound convincing.

"Are you sure Brendan cause you look like you're about to die of embarrassment," he joked once he saw his red face. Brendan had no idea his face was red which only caused his mind to run even faster.

"Yeah I'm sure, she's seeing someone," trying and almost failing to stay calm.

Tom raised an eyebrow before he said, "bummer, I really wanted to ask her out too. Oh well better luck next time huh?"

"Yeah," Brendan responded glad that Tom wasn't about to pry more into his lie. He allowed himself a couple of calming breaths until he calmed completely down.

"Oh and Brendan, I'll be coming by your dad's lab over the summer to pick out my pokemon," he said changing the subject and the awkward atmosphere.

"Great Tom, I'll be glad to be there for when you pick out your starter," Brendan said offering the boy a smile.

Soon after they were soon led into the school's auditorium for the ceremony. Little did Brendan know that something similar was happening to May as well.

"Let's see… Ah here we go," May muttered as she found her line that was already lined with students. She quickly made her way in line where a teacher was already making sure everyone was in the correct order. May was standing behind a male student but ahead of a female one. She recognized the student behind her as they had a couple of classes together in the past and were quite a bit acquainted.

"So May, you didn't arrive late today?" she joked as May turned around to face her.

"Yeah Jasmine, Brendan made sure I didn't wake up late today," she responded with a smile to the girl. The girl was named Jasmine Mills and she was the same height as May. She wore large round glasses and had long blond hair that was curled today.

"I bet," she laughed out loud which also made May laugh.

"Yep I'm pretty sure I would have gotten a piece of his mind if I slept in today," she joked as her laughter was calming down.

Jasmine had calmed down her laughing before she spoke again. "Umm May, there's something that I would like to ask you. Will that be alright?"

"Sure go ahead," May answered with amusement still on her mind.

"Well here goes." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Do you know if Brendan is seeing anyone? I would like to ask him out."

May's amusement immediately died down and was now replaced with restlessness. She knew that Brendan wasn't seeing anyone yet she felt an uncomfortable feeling in her gut. Her mind quickly raised for an answer and she said, "sorry Jasmine, Brendan is actually seeing someone."

May spotted a hint of sadness and regret on the other girls face along with a hint of skepticism, but she didn't ask any more questions. After a moment of awkward silence between the two the blond hair girl spoke again.

"Aww that sucks, well I guess better luck next time then," she said with a small forced smile.

"Hey don't worry about it Jasmine, I'm sure you'll find someone that loves you," May said laying her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Thanks May," she responded as the two were told to go inside the auditorium to take their seats. May was silently hoping that the blonde girl wouldn't ask for any more details as she had already lied.

All the students were seated in the large auditorium while the back of the hall was seated and filled with parents. May of which carried other small children with them and cameras to take pictures of their children along with their friends.

May was seated near the middle of the student crowd while the red curtain was opened revealing a large wooden podium along with a large table with a white tablecloth with the school's emblem. The table was holding about a hundred dark colored diploma cases in the form of a tube. Many teachers were seen sitting down on the stage as well as the same teacher that taught May and Brendan when the 'cheating' incident occurred.

A portly, bald man wearing a fancy brown suit made his way to the pedestal as all the students rose. After he gave his directions the students sat back and introduced himself as the principal. Not so much for the students, but for the parents in the back.

As soon as his introductions were done, the long boring speech that caused almost everyone in the room, including May, to start feeling drowsy. May could feel her eyes beginning to close from the bore inducing speech before everyone stood back up giving the principal a standing ovation.

Brendan was behind the curtain taking deep calming breaths while touching the two pokeballs that were hidden underneath his blazer to calm down. As soon as the principal finished his speech and the clapping ended, he was told to go up to the podium to deliver his speech. He was given a quick introduction and he heard loud cheers coming from the crowd. He espailly heard some extra loud cheers coming from the back which he deduced came from his family and neighbors.

He smiled when he saw his parents in the back with his mom holding pink pom poms and doing some sort of cheer like she was at a sporting event. His father was holding a video camera.

He took another calming breath before he began with the speech he had spent weeks planning.

May was absolutely mesmerized by what Brendan was saying, but she was a bit amused when she noticed how he sometimes stuttered and his voice slightly cracked at places. She knew Brendan was pretty social person, but this a new for him. He was speaking in front of not only his peers, but also teachers and parents. If being Valedictorian meant this much pressure then May would rather do anything else any day even though she had a strong academic record.

Everyone stood up as clapping once Brendan finished his speech. May could hear the loud cheers that she automatically recognized as being her neighbors. She could specially hear Mrs. Birch clearly even through everyone else's cheers.

They all sat back down and that was when the diploma distribution would begin. The principal started calling the people that sat in the front while everyone else had to wait their turn. Everyone received claps and congratulations along with getting their picture taken with the principal.

Brendan had been called earlier and luckily for him, he was still present on the stage so he didn't have to walk the long distance up there. The loud cheer from the Birch's were heard throughout the room and May smiled when she "that's my baby," from Mrs. Birch as she was snapping a million pictures.

After about half an hour it was May's turn to receive her diploma. She walked onstage where she received loud cheers from her parents in the background and her friends as well. She turned to face the left where she spotted Brendan standing up behind the curtain with his diploma in hand giving her a bright smile and clapping. May smiled back taking the diploma from the principal and getting her picture snapped as well. She was sure that her mother was taking millions of pictures from the back as well.

She went back to sit on her seat as everyone else was being called up. She clapped excitedly as she saw the friends she had made over the past seven years get their diplomas.

The ceremony ended soon after the last person was called up. The students and parents were given instructions on where to meet up and where they could celebrate. They also said that all students were excused for the day so they could go home early if they wanted.

May quickly made her way to back where she spotted her father, mother, and brother all brightly smiling at her.

Her mother was the first to step up as she quickly enveloped the girl in a tight hug and said, "I'm so proud of you May, you've really grown up," with a hind a sadness in her voice. To her it seemed like her daughter had been growing up maybe a little too fast.

"Thanks mom," May responded as she returned the hug. After a minute Caroline reluctantly let go before Norman was the one to envelop May in a tight hug.

"You've really grown, haven't you baby girl," he teased as May was in his arms.

"Dad, I already told you stop calling me that it's embarrassing," she said through stifled laughter.

"I'm sorry then, it's just you'll always be my little girl," he said as he let go of her as well.

Max was next to come up offering his own congratulations in the way of "way to go sis," although he didn't hug her like her parents had earlier.

Soon the Birch's were quick to congratulate May as well as Lisa was awkwardly hugging May through her pom poms. Professor Birch offered the girl a caring smile and a handshake as opposed to a hug.

The loud growl of May's stomach made everyone laugh as they noticed that the ceremony had run longer than expected. It was now around lunchtime and May was feeling like she could eat a truck load.

"There's a great all you can eat buffet in town," Norman suggested.

"That's great honey. Although with May and Brendan's appetite they might end up kicking us out," Caroline joked.

"Speaking of Brendan," Lisa started looking around for her son. "Shouldn't he be here by now? I wonder what's taking him so long."

"You're right Lisa, he should been here by now," Birch responded.

"Maybe he got held back there cause he's taking pictures," May joked. "Why don't I go look for him?" she asked.

"Sure thing May. We will be waiting right here for when you find him," Lisa told May with a large devious grin. She looked to her mother who had a similar grin on her face.

"I'll be right back ok," May said as she made her way deeper into the auditorium.

Caroline and Lisa were whispering in each other's ears while wide smirks covered their faces. Their husbands looked on as if they didn't know what was happening.

May made her way through the countless students and their parents as well as teachers on her quest to find her neighbor. She didn't have to look for long as she heard, "Brendan can we get a picture?" a girl a holding a camera asked.

"Sure," Brendan responded as both male and female students lined next to him to get in the picture. The girl from earlier had handed the camera to her mom as she quickly took the pictures.

"Thanks Brendan," they all said as they went on their way.

"No problem," he called out as they were leaving.

Before he could take another step another group of students came up to him to take pictures. Some wanted a group photo while some wanted an individual photo. Brendan being his kind self agreed to them all although he could already feel his stomach grumble from it being lunch time.

"Thanks," they all said.

"No problem," he responded. "When will the pictures stop?" he sighed under his breath.

"Brendan can I get a picture?" he heard a very familiar voice say. He turned around to see his neighbor giving him a smile.

"May thank Arceus you're here, people keep wanting pictures," he said sounding exhausted.

May laughed for a moment before commenting, "don't worry Brendan, why don't we go to your parents? They're really excited to see you."

"Yeah! Lead the way."

The two walked together as they weaved their way throughout the large crowd. A couple of other people wanted pictures but not as much as before which relieved the boy.

They soon made their way to where their parents were standing as Lisa practically tackled Brendan into a hug and messed up his hair. "I'm so proud of you Brendan, you've grown up so fast," she said as she tightly hugged him.

"Thanks mom, but don't you think the pom-poms were a bit excessive?" he joked returning the hug.

"Hey, you needed cheering up and I was here to perform that for you," she teased bringing him back into a hug.

"Thanks mom," he said again as he returned the second hug. Professor Birch was next as he bought his son into a tight hug.

"You're growing up be a fine young man, you're definitely my son," the professor joked.

"Thanks dad," he said though he felt like he was being crushed as he returned the hug.

Caroline was quick to also envelop him in a hug congratulating him on his success. Norman did the same but offered a pat on the back and a stern handshake. "I expect to see your challenge soon Brendan," Norman said.

"Me too Mr. Maple," Brendan said with a bright smile.

"Please call me Norman, you make me feel like an old man," he joked.

"Sure thing."

"Congrats big bro," Max said as he walked over to Brendan and gave him a high five.

"Thanks Max," Brendan said as he returned the gesture.

"So honey what took you so long?" Lisa asked as she eyed her son curiously.

"Well people wanted pictures and they wouldn't stop bugging me about it," he joked, shrugging in the process.

"So May was actually right about the pictures thing," Caroline said eyeing both her daughter and neighbor with a devious smirk. May felt an uneasy feeling in her gut.

Before anything else could be said two loud growling stomachs stopped the conversation as both owners put a hand behind their heads in embarrassment.

"Guess that means lunch. Come on let's go to the buffet," Birch said already holding his car keys guiding everyone out of the auditorium and into the parking lot.

"Oh May," Brendan paused taking a pokeball from his waist. He waited until May turned around to face him before continuing. "There's someone else that would really like to offer their congratulations," he said with a smirk on his face.

"Oh no!" May yelled. "Brendan, you promised you wouldn't let him out during the ceremony!"

"You said during the ceremony, you didn't say anything about after," he retorted. He released the pokemon inside revealing a certain mud fish that May thought was the devil's spawn.

The water type turned around to face May and his eyes narrowed. May could already feel the water hitting her face.

Later that day, both families were kicked out the buffet as a certain brown-haired pair had eaten almost all the food they had. Apparently "all you can eat" does not actually mean all you can eat. What made it worse is that both had decided to have another one of their eating contests which only sped up the rate of their eating. Brendan took another victory that day.

May got him back by talking about his awkward moments during his speech which caused his face to turn as red as a tomato.

The buffet was forced to add an asterisk to the end of their logo with a disclaimer written in small letters at the bottom.

* * *

AN: Oh wow it's already been eighteen chapters and 60k words, it feels like just yesterday that I was writing the first chapter. The little Jubilife Researcher Convention bit near the beginning was something that I was originally going to put in this story, but I changed my mind last minute and decided to save it for another future story. Wonder if you guys can guess who those other two boys are. Anyways our pairs ages below:

Brendan-12

May-12

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and hope to see you again in the next update.


	19. The Harvest Festival

Chapter 19: The Harvest Festival

"There we go. That's the last of them," Brendan said as he hung the last of a of a white small doll at the Petalburg gym windows. He wiped the sweat off his brow then looked over at May's direction who looked just about done with her doll hanging as well.

Norman had them set up the small decorations around the gym's windows for the upcoming Harvest Festival. Max was in town helping both Caroline and Lisa set up their stall for the festival.

Their stall sold a variety of home baked goods that the families had made beforehand. This year they hopefully wouldn't run out of goods like the previous years as their goods were recognized as being some of the best in the festival. They had worked tirelessly over the past couple of days to make sure that everything went on without a hitch.

"So, May, wanna go check how our parents are doing on their stall once you're done hanging your Teru Teru Bozu?" Brendan asked. He made his way over to May, carrying an empty box in his hands.

"Yeah sure, this summer heat can really get to someone," she said, raising herself up and wiping the sweat off her brow.

They had changed into clothing that was more appropriate for the blistering Hoenn heat. Both brunettes were wearing khaki shorts, though May's shorts were much shorter than Brendan's, along with a light blue t-shirt with a small white emblem to the right that read 'Petalburg Harvest Festival.'

"Tell me about it. It was tough getting fieldwork done when it feels like you're being roasted alive," Brendan joked. He had just returned from placing the empty box inside the gym. He stretched his arms high above his head as May took her empty cardboard box back inside the gym and came out a couple seconds later.

"I'm just glad you were able to make it this year," May said as the two walked down the street where the festival was to take place. There were multiple people already outside setting up their stalls.

The stalls included those that sold food, those where you could play for prizes, those that sold goods, and theatrical stalls where one could sit down to enjoy a play.

"Yep, it took a lot of work but I finally was able to convince Dad to not take me to the researcher's convention," he responded. The sound of bustling people was heard as they made their way down the street.

"Yep, looks like you'll finally be able to attend after seven years of living in Hoenn. I'm glad," she said, with a grin on her face.

"Where was that nerd convention of yours taking place anyway?" She asked a moment afterwards.

"Oh, this year Lumiose City is hosting the convention, and I wanted to go, but ultimately it's better to attend the festival."

"Didn't you say that friend of yours lives in Kalos? The tall one in the picture in your room?" She asked inquisitively.

"Yeah, I was hoping to see him again, but I guess we will meet up some other time. I just hope we hung enough Teru Teru Bozu so that it doesn't rain this year like you said it did last year," he smiled as he envisioned May wearing her festival kimono on a rainy day.

"I really hope it doesn't otherwise the festival will be ruined," she responded back glumly.

The books had told Brendan that the ancient people of Hoenn created and hung Teru Teru Bozu after the pokemon castform. The ancient people had seen how castform changed with the weather and began to associate it with the coming of good or bad weather. Most of the Teru Teru Bozu were modeled after the sun form of castform so that they would bring sunny weather, but sometimes the dolls were modeled after the rain form when the ancient people needed rain for their crops.

However, this was considered by many an old folktale as the Hoenn Weather Institute is said to have created castform, while others claim that they didn't and that the pokemon had been a major part of Hoenn even in ancient times.

Brendan had also read that the Petalburg Harvest Festival dated back centuries when the city used to be an agricultural region. The people of the city would gather around at the end of summer after successfully harvesting their crops and thanked the pokemon that had made it possible. The most common pokemon included grass type legends such as Celebi and Shaymin, to others such as Ho-Oh that are said to bring plentiful harvest while many others also gave their thanks to the castform for bringing great weather.

The festival was generally only held on years where the harvest had been plentiful, but as time went on, the festival became an integral part of the town. The festival would now always occur at the end of August in response to the beginning of summer's end even if the harvest had been good or bad.

"By the way Brendan, make sure Skipper doesn't water gun me again," May threatened, pointing a finger at Brendan's face.

"He's already water gunned you today and he only does it once a day so don't worry about." He tried to reassure her, though she didn't seem to believe his wide grin as she raised her eyebrows.

"Just make sure he doesn't do it or you will both get it," she threatened.

"Yeah yeah," Brendan responded, hardly fazed by her threat.

 _Just make sure you don't say anything bad about him or he might use a blizzard on you,_ he internally commented. The thought of such thing happening caused his smirk to widen.

They kept walking further down for another minute when their reached their parent's stall. They were also all wearing khaki shorts and a light blue t-shirt.

"Oh are you two done with the gym's decorations?" Caroline asked. She was carrying around large carboard boxes.

"Yep mom, do you guys need any help?" May asked.

"Nah, don't worry about it you two, we got this covered," Lisa said as she was writing something down on her clipboard.

"Why don't you guys take Max and go eat? It should be around lunchtime," Caroline added, setting the boxes down on the tables.

"Sure thing. Call us if you need any help," Brendan said as Max made his way over his older sister.

"Just make sure you don't get kicked out of another restaurant," Lisa joked.

"No promises," May joked as the three made their way out of the street and looked for somewhere to eat.

"So Brendan how is that treecko you told me about doing?" Max asked as he walked besides Brendan.

"Well he's umm… doing a bit better you could say," he sighed. "He keeps getting returned to the lab because his trainers said he was uncooperative. I was really hoping my friend Tom would have been able to bond with him, but it seems like Treecko didn't like him as Tom returned him to the lab a week later."

"What do you think caused that Treecko to act like that?" May asked.

"Well, since I can't talk to pokemon I can't give an accurate conclusion. Maybe he doesn't like other people, but he acts just fine with me for some reason. Maybe he's waiting for the perfect trainer or he just likes the lab…" Brendan continued as the three made their way to a ramen restaurant.

Naturally May and Brendan ordered multiple large bowls of ramen while Max had a small bowl. Brendan had let out his two pokemon so they could eat as well. Skipper eyed May for a second before downing some of his ramen while Drake ate like there was no tomorrow. Maybe Drake was taking after his owner a bit too much. Max eyed Drake with slight fright as he was remembering the time the dragon type bit his hand, but he let it go as the dragon type offered him a toothy grin.

They ate for the next half hour, or rather two certain people gorged themselves, before getting their bill and heading back to the gym. They had a couple of hours before the festival began so they could spend some time helping out their parents if they needed it, but they spent most of their time playing games.

Brendan was leading both May and Max by a mile when they were playing Pokemon Trivia. His face had been smug for the past fifteen minutes making it painful for both May and Max to see, well mostly May.

"Hah that's another win for me," Brendan declared. His smirk was growing wider by the minute.

"You're such a cheater Brendan," May fired, disappointed that she hadn't won a single game.

"Nah Sis you're just really bad at this," Max joked which earned him an ear pulling from his sister.

The next couple hours passed on with Brendan's smug face as he was winning almost every game the three played while May and Max only claimed a couple of victories for themselves. They hadn't gotten a call from their parents so they assumed everything must have been going well.

After checking the clock, the three decided that it was time to get changed to enjoy the festival. They each pulled their bags off the ground with May heading to the bathroom to change while Brendan and Max stayed behind.

"Brendan can you help me with this knot?" Max asked. He was struggling to tie his dark blue obi on his blue kimono. Since it was a traditional Hoenn Festival, many people wore traditional clothing while many others were their regular clothes. Brendan wanted to wear traditional clothes as this was his first time attending.

"Yeah sure," Brendan said. He crouched down tying Max's obi around his lower stomach. After a second he said, "there ya go all set. You look like a little emperor," while giving the younger boy a thumbs up.

"Thanks," Max responded.

May had quickly exited the bathroom after the two males had changed. She was wearing a dark blue kimono with various small white floral designs along with a floral-patterned light green obi around her stomach. She also had her blue bandana tying her ponytail which created a small bow on the top of her head.(A/N the outfit May has on in the cover image).

She saw that her neighbor and brother were done changing. She first noticed her brother who was wearing a simple blue kimono and a dark blue obi. He kept his large framed glasses on.

She then noticed her neighbor who was wearing something similar to her brother other than the fact that his kimono had multiple large orange and red flower and pokemon designs. She noticed that it fit him pretty well, but she couldn't help but think there was something missing.

"Brendan do you still have that black and red bandanna I gave you for your birthday?" she asked as she made her way over to them. She placed her bag back on the floor.

"Umm… yeah, I think I have it somewhere in here," he said as he went into his bag and after a minute he took out his black and red bandanna.

"Why do you need it for?" he asked as he handed the bandanna to May.

"I think your outfit is missing something," she responded. She got closer, taking the bandanna from his hands and began wrapping the bandana around his temples and part of head covering only part of his messy brown hair. As May was tying the bandanna she noticed that the boy had grown a bit taller. He only lead her in height by a couple centimeters not too long ago, but now he lead her by several centimeters.

Had she been paying more attention to his face, she would have noticed that he was deep red while he tried to avoid eye contact. May only realized this after she was done tying the ends into a small bow at the right side of his head. Her face grew red as she her hands retreated. She turned around hiding her blush and said, "there ya go, that's what you were missing."

Max had been snickering the background, his hand to his mouth to cover his laughter. He mumbled, "so mom was right."

"Thanks May," the boy said uneasily, still madly blushing from earlier.

After an awkward caught from Max, the two came back to their senses as they put their shoes on and exited the gym. Their first visit was to the shrine where they would pay their respects to the pokemon that blessed them with a plentiful harvest.

As usual, the shrine already had a long line formed inside the grounds as people were ringing the bell and paying their respects. The three made their way to the wash station where they rinsed their hands and mouth to clean themselves from impurities before lining up.

The sun was slowly setting into the west as the shrine's lanterns were lit and the bright lights of the festival began to lighten the street.

They had decided to past the time by playing a series of verbal games. May found herself winning more games than usual and she thought that perhaps Brendan was going easy on her or that the gods had blessed her with good luck. She never got the chance to be declared the winner as they made it to the altar holding the large golden bell. They gently tossed a coin into the offering box then rang the bell, clapped their hands together then offered their prayers.

From there they made their way back to the city. The lights now shone brighter as the sun was no longer there to obstruct them. They walked over to their parent's stall that shone bright red while there was already a large line in front as they saw their mothers taking orders.

"Umm mom, do you need help?" Brendan asked. Lisa was running around frantically trying to fill in all the orders.

"Oh don't worry about us this honey, this is nothing," she responded as she finished taking another handful of orders.

"You sure?" May asked with concern in her voice.

"It's fine sweetie, Lisa I can handle this, you kids go have fun." Caroline winked which caused May's face to grow red.

"If you say so then, good luck you two," Brendan said with some reluctance. He knew that his mother was used to this kind of work as she used to work at a world-famous restaurant, but he couldn't help but worry. The tugging on his sleeve by Max snapped him out of his thoughts as Max was pointing at a stall with a large water tank filled with goldeen while two empty tanks stood to the left and right of the large one.

"Brendan why don't we scoop some goldeen?" Max asked.

"Ah sure, let's go. Come on May," he said motioning for May to follow.

Like Brendan, May was slightly reluctant in leaving their parents to work alone in the stall, but she figured that since they said they would be fine, she should at least have some fun.

They made their way to the Goldeen Scoop stand where and old mustached man handed the three a scooper which looked incredibly fragile like even the slightest touch could break it. The mesh inside was made of thin paper so it looked like the water could easily break it as well.

'Gah that's the fifth one!" May exclaimed. So far she had failed in catching even one goldeen.

"I feel you May, that's my fifth one as well," Brendan sighed. He held the broken scooper to his face, trying to come up with some strategy.

"This game is rigged," Max muttered which caused both May and Brendan to slap a hand over his mouth. The owner had apparently heard him as he was now glaring at the three. They knew the game was rigged but they wouldn't dare say it in front of someone as intimidating as the owner.

After a couple more failed tries of trying to scoop goldeen, they gave up and moved on with their lives. Brendan had vowed to taste all the food like at New Year's so he was carrying a large brown paper bag in one hand while using his other to treat himself. May was wise to bring more money this time so she could buy for herself and her brother and wouldn't have to ask her neighbor for money.

They spent the next couple of hours playing a variety of carnival games. Brendan was able to win himself a Zorua mask when he won a "Guess the Pokemon" game. He placed the mask to the left side of his head so his face wasn't covered. He had also won a ralts pokedoll after winning an arcade style game where he danced to famous boy groups and girl groups May managed to win herself a large blaziken pokedall after showing her strength at a high striker. And poor Max was only able to win himself a small pikachu plush when he didn't perform as well as May on the high striker.

Max was beginning to rub his eyes as the hours passed on. Brendan was the first to notice as he asked the young boy if he was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Of course Max denied, but after a minute his eyes were beginning to drop and he was having a hard time walking. May then took it upon her hands to lead her brother back to the gym so he could fall asleep while she sent Brendan to look for a spot for the fireworks.

"So how's Max doing?" Brendan asked as May made her way to sit next to him underneath a tree. Skipper was laying on his head while eating some of the food he had bought earlier. Drake was sitting on the floor while eating a large serving of food.

"He's doing great. He's just sleepy," she said.

After a moment of awkward silence she asked, "how do you like your first harvest festival?"

He turned around to face her, "I like it. It's a lot more lively than I thought it would be but the food is great." He gave her a bright grin.

"That's great to hear. Maybe you we can come back next year?" she asked.

"May I… I'll be probably be going on my journey soon so I might not be able to come next year," he said, his voice was getting softer as he continued. He looked down to avoid May's eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry Brendan, I forgot about that so sorry." She too looked down to hide her embarrassment.

"Don't be May," he commented. He picked his head back up took look at May. He noticed that the bright moonlight was making her shine beautifully. May also picked herself up only to be met with the boy's eyes that were sparkling in the white light. They both caught themselves staring and looked back down.

After a minute, Brendan picked his head back up and looked at the brilliant white moon shining over the city. Right then and there he decided to confess his feelings but he wasn't sure how to approach such a topic.

"The Moon is beautiful, isn't it?" he said as he looked at May's direction.

May slowly picked herself up and looked at the brilliant shining orb. After a moment she said, "yeah it's beautiful."

Brendan could have sworn he had heard someone snort from behind the tree, but he couldn't dwell on it too long as the sudden bang and lights lit up the sky as the fireworks were being set off. The sky was soon filled with the bright colors covering the moon's shine. May looked on in admiration, Brendan was internally cursing himself.

 _You are such an idiot!_ he thought _. Why did I have to go all metaphorical on her? I don't think she understood what I said or she would have given me a different response._

He calmed himself down a bit before continuing his thoughts. _Maybe it's best that I don't confess. Perhaps it's best that we stay as just friends. I'm not even sure if she feels the same way so I might ruin our friendship if I make everything awkward between us._

After a long sigh he turned to look at May who was mesmerized by the fireworks. He grabbed her in a headlock breaking the awkward moment and began to nuggie her. She yelled out in surprise but couldn't push herself off him as he was laughing his heart out.

"Dang it Brendan, that hurt," she said once he let go and began rubbing her head.

"I didn't do it that hard did I?" he joked. May gave him a glare.

The last of the fireworks lit up the sky in an array of bright colors as the two stood up and walked back to the gym.

As they walked back the empty streets May spoke up. "Brendan," she began.

Brendan who had been walking ahead of her stopped and faced her. He noticed that her face was shining a bright shade of red.

"Brendan… thanks for spending time with me." She paused for a moment taking a deep breath and then continuing.

"Brendan, I… I… really appreciate it, you're such a great friend," she said, though she wanted to say something else entirely.

Brendan started at her for a moment before responding. "Thanks May. Today was really fun." He then walked over to her and gave her a soft pat on the shoulder.

"Come on it's getting late our parents might be worried about us," he continued as they walked back towards the gym.

May nodded and followed behind him. She herself was also mentally cursing herself as she failed to say what she wanted to say. She thought that perhaps it would be best if they stayed friends instead of her ruining their friendship by confessing and learning whether or not he felt the same. To her the risk was too great to take so she was content with just staying with the boy she liked.

"By the way May would you like to light up some fireworks?" he asked as he took a packet of fireworks out of his robe.

"Are those the fireworks you threaten to light in the room if I woke up late again?" she asked.

"Nah these are a lot more quieter, I have the other loud ones at home if you ever decide to wake up late again," he teased. He opened up the packet and took out two of the firework sticks. He handed one to May while he kept one for himself. He lifted Drake to his shoulders where he commanded the dragon type to use a low powered dragon breath to light the sticks.

The pair stayed together admiring the small yellow sparks speaking on occasion. They stayed together for a couple more minutes as the last of the sticks went off. Then they made their way to the gym where they could retire for a night's rest.

Later that night Skipper and Drake were giving their trainer sly looks. They were making kissing faces as in to mock their trainer. May didn't understand what he had said earlier, but his two pokemon knew exactly what he meant and now they were having fun teasing him.

"Oh shut it you two," Brendan said as a blush was overtaking his face.

* * *

AN: the phrase, " _The Moon is Beautiful isn't it_ ," is just a fancy way of saying I love you. Unfortunately May didn't get the meaning behind it and she also failed to confess right then and there as well. As much as I would love for them to confess the feelings I've been teasing since chapter one, this is ultimately based of the anime and if they were to confess then May would have probably had traveled with Brendan as opposed to Ash. I know that I probably made a lot of shippers mad this chapter and for that I gotta say, "I'm sorry!" So to make it up here's a little preview on the next chapter.

 _"Wanna join in Treecko?" Brendan asked. He waved at the grass type who ignored him for a minute before he climbed down and ran at full speed towards the creek. From there the grass type tackled the boy sending him deep into the water until he resurfaced a second later._

 _"Hah hah, you're just a playful little one aren't you?" Brendan said giving the grass type a couple of head scratches._

Our pair's ages are as follow: Brendan- 13, May- 12


	20. A New Friend

Hi everyone and welcome to chapter twenty of this fanfic. This chapter will be Brendan focused along with a pokemon I mentioned in the last chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 20- A New Friend

"That stupid pokemon you gave me didn't listen to me at all!" A blond-haired boy wearing a blue expensive suit yelled at Brendan and Joshua. The pokeball in his hand was thrown at the two and Brendan was barely able to catch it.

"I'm deeply sorry about the inconvenience with the pokemon, you're free to pick another one if you want." Joshua gestured, trying to keep his tone calm even though on the inside he wanted to kick a certain rich boy in the butt for the past half hour.

"Humph! Knowing you people I bet the other Pokemon you have are just the same so save your breath!" He yelled. He proceeded to exit the lab and slam the door on the way out.

Brendan, who had been quiet the entire time, was glaring daggers at the door while holding the pokeball that was thrown. After a long sigh he released the pokemon inside revealing a green wood gecko. The pokemon looked around for a second as he was surrounded by the familiar atmosphere. He crossed his arms and looked away from Brendan and sulkily said "treecko ko."

Brendan sighed again looking over to Joshua who just shrugged. After a moment Brendan sighed. "Treecko that's the third one this month, you can't just keep disobeying the trainers that want to adopt you."

"Treecko ko!" the pokemon yelled as he turned around to face the boy and pointed a finger at him. From there he began saying a lot of verses that the boy couldn't understand so he looked on as if he understood.

"You know Treecko, I can't understand what you're saying. I wish I could though," Brendan replied which caused the pokemon to turn back around and cross his arms.

"Why don't you take the pokemon to get some exercise Brendan. There aren't any more trainers coming in today so it should be alright?" Joshua said as he checked his clipboard.

"I guess you're right," he sighed. "Maybe a bit of exercise will help Treecko calm down a bit and I can get a bit of work done."

Joshua nodded before going back to sit on his desk, typing up some of the data he had gathered from his fieldwork. After Brendan, Joshua was the professor's most reliable assistant and he yearned to learn anything he could from him as his dream was to become Hoenn's regional professor when he got older.

Both Brendan and Joshua were on great terms as they tended to work together especially when it came to the raising of the starter pokemon. Although there were those times when Joshua really liked to embarrass the younger boy, in which he would receive a book to the face. As everyone suspected Brendan's book tosses were a lot more painful once he had grown more.

Many of the books in the lab had been changed from hardcovers to paperbacks for this reason, but it didn't change the fact that it still hurt being at the end of his tosses.

Brendan grabbed two pokeballs that were sitting on a small white table. From there he returned Treecko to his pokeball and called for his two pokemon to come along as well. Skipper and Drake had been wondering around the lab making a bit of trouble for the other scientists.

"I'll see ya later then Joshua," Brendan said as he was heading out the door. The sound of a bark stopped the boy as he turned to his left to see a black dog who was looking at him with pleading eyes.

"You wanna come too Toto?" Brendan asked as he crouched down to pat the pokemon on the head. A loud bark and a nod from the pokemon made the boy say, "well come on then."

Although he had caught the pokemon over a year ago, his father was the one who took care of raising it while Brendan handled his own pokemon and the lab's pokemon. Unfortunately for the pokemon, the professor had been spending more and more time in the lab and was unable to give the pokemon the attention he wanted. When the opportunity showed itself, the dark type was more than ecstatic about joining Brendan on his fieldwork.

Brendan walked out into the town's streets to be greeted by the warm September air. May's thirteenth birthday had just been held and this year the boy had given her a necklace after his mother had suggested it.

Ever since the day of the Harvest Festival, the boy had become rather awkward around the girl. He accepted in his mind that it was best for them to stay at friends, but a gnawing feeling in his stomach sharply reminded him that he wanted May to be more than just a friend. He ignored the feeling knowing that their relationship could be destroyed if he confessed and she didn't feel the same.

There was also the fact that the Maple family would soon be moving to Petalburg City. He wasn't told many details about the move, but May had just said that it would be a lot more convenient for their family. Due to the move, the two would not be able to see each other as much and he was kind of happy about it. He wasn't happy that she was moving away, but he was happy that he wouldn't have more chances to make himself seem like a fool in front of her.

As he was stuck in train of thought, the boy failed to notice that a certain water type was about to water gun in the face. The water type seemed to be trying to help the boy with his confidence since that day, but it wasn't very effective.

He suddenly felt a sudden jet of water struck him in the face as he waved his hands in front of him in surprise. He wiped the water out of his face and yelled, "Skipper what was that for? I'm not May!".

"Mud Mud Kip," the water type responded as he made his way to the usual creek. Brendan sighed again and followed behind reaching the spot in a couple of minutes.

To his immense surprise, there weren't any pokemon at the creek so maybe he wouldn't be getting as much research done as he had expected. He then reached out for three pokeballs on his belt and said, "Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip come on out."

In front of him popped out the same Treecko from earlier but this time he was met with a small orange chick with small wings and another Mudkip.

Skipper was quick to greet the other water type as the two greeted each other by slapping their tails. From there the two went into the creek where they began having a splash war. Torchic meanwhile had settled by sitting on a nearby rock making sure not to take a step on the water. Treecko on the other hand had already climbed a tree and rested on one of the branches with both of his hands behind his back.

Drake who had been quiet for the majority of the trip let out a soft growl and ran towards the creek to play with the Mudkips. Toto merely settled for sitting next to the boy as he sat down on the grassy undergrowth and took out his clipboard to make observations of the pokemon.

"Guess you really miss being out in open huh," Brendan joked as he patted the dark type on the head earning delightful coos.

He then looked back at Treecko who was enjoying himself up on the tree. Treecko wasn't a bad pokemon, he just wasn't very good at following orders given by other trainers.

* * *

Brendan was checking on the incubator temperature to make sure that each egg was at an optimal temperature. On a large white table laid three eggs inside of their glass containers.

The container on the left contained a light green egg with multiple large dark orange spots dotting the surface. The egg in the middle was a light orange color with a yellow feather symbol at the bottom. The egg on the far right was one that the boy was very familiar with. The egg had a light blue coloring and was dotted with large orange spots across the surface.

"Let's see," Brendan said as he was checking the temperatures. "Yep that's about right," he continued as he inspected the following egg. Suddenly a bright flash of white light interrupted him as he looked at the egg at the far left. Brendan was quick to remove the glass casing so the baby pokemon could get room to stretch out.

After another short moment the light died down revealing the shape of green wood gecko who was crawled up into a ball. He opened his and took in his surroundings before stretching out his legs and arms. The first thing he caught sight of was of the boy who was looking at him. The pokemon was afraid at first but calmed down once the boy spoke.

"Hi Treecko, my name is Brendan. Nice to meet you!" He said with a grin and held his hand out for the pokemon to shake.

The pokemon stared at his hand for a second before his own smaller hand reached out and they gently shook.

"Great Treecko. I'll be acting as your temporary trainer until a trainer comes in to adopt you," Brendan continued. The pokemon seemed shocked at the boy's words as he gave him a skeptical look, but Brendan hadn't noticed as he was already grabbing the new pokemon something to eat.

Soon after Torchic and Mudkip hatched and Treecko was able to make friends with them. He had already became friends with Brendan's pokemon so he got along pretty well with them.

Brendan had taken them all out of the town to see what they could do. All three starter pokemon proved themselves to be cooperative as Brendan spoke his orders. Soon they would be ready to be adopted he thought and they would make incredible partners.

He remembered the day when his school friend Tom had come into the lab to pick his starter. The new trainer was dressed in his trainer's outfit and looked enthusiastic about beginning his journey. Brendan had let the three starter pokemon out so Tom could take his pick.

After a moment of contemplating Tom decided to go with Treecko and the wood gecko responded by jumping up and smacking the boy in the face.

"I'm really sorry about that Tom, Treecko doesn't usually act like that," Brendan said as he was taking care of Tom's wound.

"Nah don't worry about it Brendan, I'm sure the two of us will get along just fine. He probably just needs some time to get to know me is all."

"Great, there all taken care of," Brendan said as he put away the first aid kit.

"By the way Brendan when will you begin your journey?" Tom asked as he clipped Treecko's pokeball on his belt.

"Eh, soon I would say. I'm mainly staying behind for now to make sure that Dad doesn't get himself killed," Brendan joked.

"Hah hah for a pokemon professor, does your dad not get well with pokemon?" Tom asked.

"Well sort of. You see that Poochyena over?" Brendan said pointing towards Toto who was laying down on his doggie bed.

Tom nodded once he caught sight of it.

"You see that Poochyena actually bit Dad in the backside and I had to fend him off. From there he seemed to have taken a liking to him," Brendan said with laughter in his voice.

"Wait seriously dude? That's hilarious" Tom said right before he began laughing.

"Yep so I'm just staying behind for a bit longer to make sure he doesn't get killed."

Tom got up from his chair and said, "well it's been great seeing you man, let's meet up when you start your journey ok?". He held his hand out for a high five and Brendan reprociated the action.

"Definitely and good luck," he said as he saw the boy leaving the lab.

About a week later Tom had returned saying that Treecko wouldn't listen to anything he said and would often hit him whenever he commanded the pokemon do use a move. Brendan had apologized and offered the boy another pokemon which he gladly took.

A couple more trainers came back in after they had chosen Treecko complaining about the same actions. Brendan and Joshua found themselves raising a lot more Torchic and Mudkip than expected as the two were given out to trainers who returned the grass type.

Brendan would often later lecture Treecko about proper behavior, but the grass type would turn around and cross his arms avoiding eye contact with the boy.

* * *

Brendan's flashback was interrupted as he felt a sudden cold splash across his face. He looked to see that the two mudkip were having a large splashing war that was throwing water all around the area. Torchic had moved away from atop the rock as he was now hiding behind it. Toto had joined in on the fun as he was jumping around in the creek. Treecko looked on from his tree with disinterest.

Skipper had made his way out of the water and was now beginning to nudge Brendan into the creek.

"You want me to join in?" Brendan asked which earned loud nods from the pokemon inside the water.

"Alright," he said as he took off his shoes and lab coat then jumped into the cool water.

What happened to be a large splash war became even bigger as Brendan had begun splashing all the pokemon minus Treecko and Torchic.

Treecko had begun to turn his face to see the action but quickly turned back when he saw the boy looking at him.

"Wanna join in Treecko?" Brendan asked. He waved at the grass type who ignored him for a minute before he climbed down and ran at full speed towards the creek. From there the grass type tackled the boy sending him deep into the water until he resurfaced a second later.

"Hah hah, you're just a playful little one aren't you?" Brendan said giving the grass type a couple of head scratches.

As time went on, the amount of splashes decreased between the boy and the pokemon. Brendan walked back onto the grassy terrain as he was soaking wet. He pulled a a towel out of his bag and began to dry himself the best he could. He didn't bother changing clothes as he would be heading home soon anyway.

He then returned his exhausted Mudkip, along with his exhausted Bagon. Torchic was the least tired as he hadn't gotten in on the action while Treecko, Toto, and Mudkip all looked like they were about to pass out from exhaustion.

He returned them all to their pokeballs except for Treecko who didn't seem to want to return to his ball.

"So Treecko are you gonna tell me what's been bothering you so much and why you behave so badly with other people?" Brendan asked as he sat down on the ground. Treecko was soon to follow.

Treecko then began talking while making hand gestures trying to get his point across to the boy. Brendan could only nod as if trying to understand what the pokemon was saying while in reality he had no idea, so he decided to mess with him by talking about a topic that for some reason always created conflict among a certain group of people.

"So what you're getting at is that all the other trainers that came in disagreed on who's best girl." Brendan his hand on his chin. "That best girl debate can sure cause conflict don't you think?"

The grass type raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"I'm just kidding Treecko," he said. "Well it would help if you would just give me a sign since I can't really understand you."

The grass type jumped on the boy's head and made his way to his belt where he unhooked his pokeball. He held it in front of his face then pointed at it and then at Brendan multiple times.

"Wait, so you want me to be your trainer?" Brendan asked which earned a frantic nod from the grass type.

"Are you sure though? I mean, I probably won't be leaving for another couple months so you won't get to travel like if you let another trainer adopt you," Brendan warned.

Treecko shook his head at his comment and kept pointing at the ball and at the boy. He seemed to be dead set in his decision for a trainer. After all the boy had raised him from an egg and he wanted to stand and learn by his side.

"Alright if you're so sure then, then I'll gladly become your trainer."

He took the pokeball from the grass type's hands and clipped it back onto his belt.

"Now to think of a name for you," he said as he put his hand on his chin in mock thought.

"What do you think of Barley?" He asked.

The grass type shook his head in disapproval.

"Willow?"

Another shake.

"Alder?"

Another shake.

"Aster?"

Yet another shake.

"Sun?"

The grass type stopped for a moment before shaking his head again.

"Then what do you think of Zen?" Brendan asked as he was almost out quick ideas for a name.

The grass type looked at him for a moment before he nodded giving his approval for the name.

"Great from now you'll be known as Zen. Welcome to the team Zen!" Brendan exclaimed as he stretched his hand out for the grass type to shake which he quickly accepted.

Brendan walked back to town with Zen laying down on his head. He could already imagine the arguments that would ensue between the treecko and mudkip over who gets the spot.

He entered the lab where he was greeted by a couple of scientists and Joshua who was standing at the back of the room.

"Brendan you didn't skip out on training with the pokemon and had a field day instead?" he teased when he noticed the boy's wet clothing.

"Yeah yeah Joshua, I didn't get any work done," he said rolling his eyes as he placed the two pokeballs on the table. He then let Toto out letting him stretch out in the lab before going to his puppy bed.

"Brendan where's Treecko's ball?" Joshua asked once he had noticed that one ball was missing and the grass type was sleeping on the boy's head.

"Well Joshua let's just say that I found the problem that had been causing Treecko to act all up," he paused for a moment as he cleared his throat. "Well apparently Treecko seemed to be acting up with other trainers so he would get returned to lab," he began.

"But why would he do that?" Joshua asked still eyeing the pokemon on the boy's head.

"Well apparently he did it so that I could become his trainer. I officially added him to my team and named him Zen," he said with a bright smile on his face.

"Well that can certainly explain as to why he was acting up. Congrats Brendan looks like you have a new strong member for your party."

"Thanks Joshua," he responded. He looked over the area for a minute feeling his body getting weaker from exhaustion. He then said, "I'm going home then, I'll see ya later then." He began to make his way out the lab.

"See ya then," Joshua called out as Brendan's figure exited the lab.

Later that night Brendan had introduced his mother to Zen and she was more than excited to meet him. Despite various protests from the pokemon, Lisa caught the pokemon in a tight hug before she served dinner for her family.

Professor Birch was more than ecstatic that not only had his son gained a new partner, but he had also solved the Treecko problem that had been plaguing the lab for the past couple of weeks.

Brendan soon made his way upstairs to his room where he quickly changed clothes and released his three pokemon after feeding them so they could catch some shut eye.

The following day, Brendan had introduced Zen to May and for once May was relieved that at least one of the boy's pokemon was not out to get her.

The same couldn't be said for a mudfish though.

* * *

AN: I know Brendan has shiftry in the anime, but I'm honestly not the biggest fan of shiftry due to some childhood trauma involving that pokemon. As for the decision for treecko... well Brendan has sceptile in Generations and sceptile is a cool pokemon so why not?

As always their ages: Brendan- 13, May-13

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next update.


	21. Trainer Preparation

Hi everyone and welcome to the twenty first chapter of this story. As the title implies this chapter will see Brendan getting ready for his upcoming departure. Also to answer TheLoneHero17's question, May's move to Petalburg will lead to where the anime begins, as for Brendan well I haven't exactly decided.

* * *

Chapter 21: Trainer Preparation

Winter's cold hands had left the warm region of Hoenn and in came the warm hands of Spring. With another spring came another season of harvesting. With another spring came the season of flowers. With another spring came the season of young trainers leaving their homes to start their journey.

"You sure you're going to be alright Joshua? I won't be here anymore to help with the pokemon so you sure you can handle it?" Brendan asked. He had just finished organizing the last of his father's files.

"Brendan who do think you're talking to?" Joshua responded by pointing his thumb to himself. "Before you came along to help, I used to manage the starter pokemon distribution to new trainers all by myself so I think I can handle myself."

"Yeah yeah you don't have to remind me all high and mighty," sarcastically remarked.

Joshua responded to the boy's sarcasm by mocking him about his failed love confession at the Harvest Festival. Apparently, Joshua had been standing pretty close to the pair when they were sitting underneath the tree and he had heard everything. The sight of Brendan's face when Joshua told him about it the following day caused the older man to burst out in hysterical laughter.

Brendan's face instantly went red and his hand reached for the bookshelf behind him.

In retrospect, Joshua should've learned from his past experiences to not embarrass the boy, especially when he was standing in front of a shelf filled with what he called, 'deadly weapons'.

In very rare cases would Brendan respond with one of his book tosses while in most other cases he would try to act cool and forget anything happened. But this time, the embarrassment was so great that he couldn't stop himself.

Joshua's hysterical laughter stopped when he felt a familiar painful sensation on his face and quickly moved to rub the affected area.

"You can loosen up on those throws you know," Joshua groaned. He continued rubbing the area where the book had hit.

"I would appreciate it if you would stop bringing that up ," Brendan retorted. He grabbed the book from the ground and placed it back on the bookshelf behind him.

"That's the one thing I'm not going to miss once you're gone."

"Don't worry I'll make sure Mom gives you a good toss if you act up," Brendan joked. This caused the older man's expression to darken before he was taken aback from laughter coming from the boy.

"What's so funny?" Joshua asked as he continued rubbing his pained face.

"Just your expression," Brendan said. After a couple more laughs he continued on. "You know out of everyone here in the lab you're the one that's received the most books."

"Wait so how many other people did you get?" Joshua exclaimed. Since the man spent a good portion of his time either raising the starter pokemon, or in his office, he didn't always socialize with the other scientists.

Brendan looked at his hands and began counting on his fingers as he began saying names.

"Let's see there was Melissa, Nathan, Henry, Stella, Scott, Peter and Lucy," Brendan said. He had finished counting the amount of people on his hands.

"That's scary," Joshua began. As he finished placing the last of the files in their drawers he continued. "So when are you planning on leaving?"

Brendan who was also finished organizing the files placed a hand on his chin in thought.

"Probably within a week or two, guess it depends if I can get all my preparations done in time."

"Then I'll be looking for you on television then," Joshua responded as he held his hand out to shake. He noticed that the boy was now beginning to reach his height and still looked like he had a ways to grow if he took the Professor's height into account.

"Thanks, I'll make sure to do my best."

* * *

"Honey try this one on," Lisa exclaimed. She threw a set of clothes over the door to land in the dressing room Brendan was in. Since the boy would be leaving on his journey soon, his mother had decided to bring him to the Petalburg City Trainer's store to stock on supplies and to also pick out a traveling outfit. The store in the Littleroot didn't have as big of a selection on outfits and they should know as they visited there that morning.

Professor Birch was unfortunately unable to make it due to him being overrun by his work, so he had just given the boy a pretty large sum of money so he could buy multiple outfits for his trip.

Lisa was currently standing outside of the dressing room, hoping that this time the outfit she picked out for her son would be one that he liked. She had already picked out multiple outfits for him to wear, but he would just respond by giving her weird looks. _Surely my fashion advice isn't that bad, right? I just want to make sure he stays nice and warm._ She thought before hearing her son's words.

"I don't know about this one Mom, it's a bit too cozy," she heard him say uneasily from the other side.

"Why don't you let me see it? I bet you look great," she encouraged. The door to the room clicked and was slowly swung open revealing her son wearing an outfit that would probably be better suited for trainers traveling in the colder Sinnoh climate than Hoenn.

The boy was wearing a long sleeved red and black jacket over his black t-shirt. He also sported long baggy black trousers with yellow cuffs at the bottom. His shoes were colored red and black which matched well with the rest of his outfit.(A/N his Ruby and Sapphire outfit). What his mother failed to notice was his face which was full of discomfort and a bit of sweat.

"You look great Honey!" she exclaimed.

Brendan raised an eyebrow and began to fan himself with one hand. "Mom this outfit is not great. It feels like I'm being baked alive."

"Oh I'm sure it's not that bad," she gleamed.

"Mom sometimes I get the feeling you forget what region we've been living in for the past eight years. Come on say it with me. We live in H-O-E-N-N not Sinnoh," he began his lecture.

"So I take it the outfit is a no go?" she asked looking slightly disheartened.

"Nope not at all," he said as he closed the door and began changing again. "Seriously Mom, I get the feeling you would be the type of mother that is so out of touch with the region's climate that she would be alright with sending her daughter hiking to Snowpoint City while wearing a miniskirt," he joked.

* * *

In Twinleaf Town a blue haired woman was sitting on the couch watching one of her old contest videos while her glameow sat next to her. Suddenly a loud sneeze broke the room's tranquility and the pokemon jumped up in sudden fright.

"Mom are you alright?" a younger girl sitting on the opposite couch asked as she had also been startled by the sudden noise.

"Yeah Dawn, I'm alright. I just get the feeling someone is talking about me from a faraway region." Her daughter gave her a quizzical look before returning to watch the television.

"By the way Dawn weren't you going to say goodbye to Lucas today?" the mother asked.

The young girl looked at her a minute before she jumped to her feet and exclaimed, "Oh my God you're right! I'm gonna be late!"

* * *

"And here I thought you would have liked that one," Lisa sighed. She brightened up after a second and said, "why don't you try the other one, you know the one with the green?"

"Sure thing Mom," she heard from the other side. _I think this one he will definitely like. Like he said to me this one isn't long sleeved so it should be much cooler than the last one._

After another minute, the door clicked and it swung open. This time Brendan was wearing a short sleeved collared shirt with orange outlines as opposed to red like the previous also wore a pair of shorts that were worn over a pair a pants or maybe the shorts were sewed together with the pants. His shoes this time were a green and orange color so they matched with his shirt(his Emerald outfit).

"This one is actually a lot better," he said. He paused for a moment as he saw his mother's excited face. He hated to break it to her but there was something that bothered him about this outfit.

"Well mom, this outfit I think would be a lot better if it didn't have the double pants. I can already feel my legs being baked," he joked. Although he did like to wear black, the abundance of the color in this outfit would have surely baked him in the warmer months.

His mother's face slightly dropped but she was able to pick herself back up as she said, "why don't you try the last one then?"

Brendan nodded and went back inside the room. His mother was drowned in her thoughts as he was changing. _Man, I never knew my boy was so picky when it came to clothing. This time I really hope he likes the last one, or I may be failure as a mother for not knowing my child's clothing style._

"I think you've hit the target with this one mom," she heard as the door clicked open revealing wearing a different outfit. This time the boy was wearing a red and black short sleeved colored t-shirt. The red in this shirt was a different red from the previous jacket as it looked like it was colored orange. He also wore black knee length shorts with dark gray patches. His shoes were similar to the ones he normally wore as they were white and green. (A/N his ORAS outfit)

"Great to see that you've finally decided," she said relieved that her son found an outfit he liked.

"Yeah looks like it. I'll go change back and I can pay for it with the money dad gave me," he said.

His mother nodded as he closed the door again and changed back into his regular outfit. The door quickly clicked back open showing that he was wearing his usual short sleeved white button up shirt and khaki pants.

"Brendan honey. Why don't you buy one of the red and black outfit for when it gets cold in winter?" Lisa asked. "Maybe buy them all?" she suggested.

"Actually mom, that's not a bad idea. Thanks," he replied. He went back to the area where they had been a couple of seconds ago and picked out a couple of the previous outfits and added them to his growing clothing pile.

"Why don't you pick out a hat while we are here?" she asked. She pointed towards the area where hats were sold so Brendan could take a look. Brendan glanced at it for second and turned his attention back to the register.

"Mom do you remember that hat May gave me for our first Christmas?" He asked with a slight blush covering his face.

His mother nodded while a sly grin grew on her lips which automatically made the boy regret mentioning it.

"Well, I actually wanted to wear it for my journey," he muttered. He looked down to the floor in an effort to hide his blush from his mother's prying eyes. To his immense surprise, she didn't take the opportunity to tease him as she patted him on the back and they continued walking to the register.

"There you go. That will be 36,000 Pokedollars please" the guy working at the register said.

"Well it's a great thing Dad gave me enough money," Brendan joked as he paid for his purchase. The guy took the money and handed him his change and the large white bag that the boy was able to fit with ease inside his backpack. Isn't technology great?

"You sure you don't want a new bag Brendan? I'm not saying that your current one looks bad or anything, but you've had it for a while so why not change it?"

"Nah mom, these bags are designed to withstand anything Kyogre and Groudon throw at them," he said. "And besides dad didn't give me enough money to buy a new bag." He pointed towards a display case that held multiple different models of bags. Lisa's eyes bulged when she saw the price tag on one of them. She knew they were expensive, but not this expensive.

"Yep you definitely don't need a new bag."

Lisa was watching her son savagely eat his meal. They had stopped to eat lunch at one of the restaurants at Petalburg after they had visited a general store to buy other supplies the boy would need. And by supplies the mother meant cooking utensils.

When he had told her that he could carry up to a house in his bag if needed, Lisa was quick to buy all the cooking supplies she thought he would need. They had bought a small set of cooking pots, whisks, bowls, a cutting board, knives, pans as well as spatulas and ladles. She even asked if he would be able to fit a small table and a small portable stove. He joked that she might as well throw their fridge inside his bag.

They didn't stop to buy get his camping supplies as the professor had made sure in advance to get camping supplies such as a tent, sleeping bag, a tarp and once last thing he had told her not to mention to boy as it was a surprise.

The sound of munching bought the mother out of her mental checklist as she looked back at her son who always ate like a snorlax that came out of hibernation. She for once was glad that he longer ate with his mouth open, but he still had an enormous appetite. She made a mental note to pack him enough food to last about a week, or about a year in normal people's appetite. Part of her was relieved that she wouldn't have to make meals for thirty people for just her family, but she also knew that she would miss cooking that much.

Over the past couple of years, she had been slowly teaching her son how to cook so he could make his own food while on the road. She knew she wasn't able to teach him everything, but she was determined to at least teach him the basics and how he could make the most of his food. She thought that the ability to cook was something that all trainers should atleast have some knowledge in so that they wouldn't starve or eat disgusting food.

She and Caroline had also agreed to teach May how to cook in case she decided to leave on her own journey.

When Lisa had inquired as to what May wanted to do when she grew up, Caroline just said that May was taking her time with her options. She had said that May had been considering going on a pokemon journey, but that she would always start changing her mind when the subject was bought up. They of course didn't want to put any external pressure or expectations on her daughter as that might force her to do something that she would regret in the long run.

She also thought about all the times she had teased her son about having a crush on their neighbor. She always remembered how red his face would get when she brought up the subject and how he would immediately deny it. She remembered how she and Caroline sometimes got together to look at wedding catalogues and imagine if their kids actually did get married. It was all a motherly joke after all so it was all for their amusement. They could already imagine the looks their kids would give them if they had actually seen them with one of those magazines.

"Mom you there?" Brendan asked as he waved his hand in front of her face snapping out her thoughts.

"Huh… oh yeah, you need something honey?" she asked. She looked down at her plate and noticed that her food was missing. She knew exactly where it had gone, but didn't comment. Instead she offered a bright smile.

"Just checking." he said at first. "You didn't even notice when I snatched the food out of your plate so I thought maybe you were sick."

"Heh, I don't look sick do I?" she joked. Noticing her son's smile she continued on, "I was just thinking how lonely it's going to be once you're gone."

Brendan's smile dropped at the comment. He knew that the aspect of traveling was a tough one especially for the parents who had to see their kids leave home. He knew that there were parents that prohibited their kids from going on journeys just because they couldn't take the pain of seeing their child go into the world without their supervision and care.

"Don't worry about me Mom. I have three strong pokemon with me so there's no need to worry." His smile was growing back on his face.

"I know that honey, it's just you know… difficult to see you go. I knew it was coming, but it still hurts me as a mother to see you go." At this point she was beginning to gain tears around her eyes.

"Mom really, there's no need to worry, and I'll make sure to call everyday if it helps."

His mother nodded calming herself down. After a moment she decided that it was time to maybe mess with her son a bit. And she knew exactly how she was going to accomplish that.

"So Brendan, how are things with you and May going?" she asked, a large visible smirk was growing on her face.

As she had expected her son's face was already beginning to turn all shades of red. "Umm… you know May and I are good friends is all," he muttered under his breath but his mother was able to hear him.

"You sure you don't feel anything else when you're around her? Like maybe odd sensations?"

Brendan paused for a second as he saw his mother's eyes. He knew that he felt strange feelings in his gut and heart whenever he was around her. He had long since abandoned confessing as he was afraid that she didn't feel the same and that their long childhood relationship would take a turn for the worst.

"Nope there's nothing like that," he lied. He thought he saw his mother's smirk grow wider for a short second before she plastered on her usual grin. He was relieved that she would stop trying to pry into his more personal life as she got off the table and paid the bill for the meal. They later went back to the jeep where she drove back to Littleroot.

"By the way Brendan, have you told May when you'll be leaving," she asked.

Brendan paused for a moment before he said, "I only told her that I would be leaving soon, but I never did give her a solid date."

"I think it would be best if you were to tell her. Who knows maybe you'll be able to convince her to go with you."

"I'm not so sure mom. After all I would be pushing her to make a decision in a short period of time and who knows if she would actually take up my offer."

"There's no hurt in trying though, so next time you see her, why don't you tell her about your departure and maybe you can get her to join."

"I guess you're right mom," he muttered. "There are starter pokemon at the lab so if she does decide to join me, then Dad would be more than happy to give her a pokemon," he said mainly to himself.

"Good luck out there honey," she said with a wink which caused the boy's face to turn red again.

* * *

AN: Okay don't kill me on this, but I always thought Brendan's RS outfit seemed out of place, specially when you consider Hoenn's climate. As Brendan said, it looks like an outfit better suited for mountain climbing in Sinnoh. I did compromise however, you can say that he will wear his ORAS outfit when it's warmer while changing to his RS/E one when it's colder. The little section in the middle with Dawn I just threw in there for comedic effect and maybe a bit of foreshadowing. Well I've already referenced Lucas in two other chapters so see if you can spot them. Oh and I think the pokedollar is based of the Japanese Yen, so he's not paying like 36,000 dollars but more like 360, just to throw that out there. Also this chapter is Brendan and Lisa focused because I feel that very often in anime, the protagonist hardly has any interaction with their parents; they're always either dead or never around.

Both Brendan and May are 13 in this chapter, and that's pretty much it. Look forward to the next update!


	22. What Should I Do?

Hi everyone and welcome to the twenty second chapter of this story. Since last two chapter were Brendan focused, this one will focus more on May so hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 22- What Should I Do?

May woke up to the soft sound of the taillow chirping outside of her window. She definitely didn't wake up because the sun had made its way through her blinds and struck her right in her eyes.

She noticed that today there wasn't the obnoxious tapping at her window from her neighbor. This would probably mark months since he had stopped doing that and although May was relieved about not being woken up obnoxiously, she felt that the tapping had become part of her morning routine to the point where it just felt strange to not hear it.

Naturally her mother was already up and about as she could smell the scent of breakfast making its way onto her room. She pulled the comforter over herself as she contemplated about her actions for the past days.

When she visited the lab yesterday, Joshua had told her Brendan wouldn't be in the lab as much anymore as he was planning on leaving. May's heart skipped a beat at the news. Sure, Brendan had already given her an idea on when he would be leaving, but he never did give her a date on when it would be happening. She thought that the reason as to why he wasn't in the lab was because he was gathering all his supplies so he could head out.

If her younger self had seen the way she is now, she would think that she had grown to be a weird girl. When she was younger, the prospect of traveling around the region without the comforts of home seemed repulsive and she saw that she would never become a trainer. Unfortunately for her, when she met Brendan who talked about all the positive sides of traveling her views slowly changed. Now she had pondered about what she wanted to do once she grew up. There were many options out there she could take that wouldn't involve coming in contact with pokemon, but part of her yearned to interact with the creatures.

She never hated pokemon, other than Brendan's mudfish, and the couple of times she had traveled out of town to research pokemon were enjoyable. All the conflicting thoughts in her head kept her in a standstill. Part of her wanted to stay in town while part of her wanted to go see the wide world.

She got out of bed after her thinking session had been concluded and cleaned herself up in the bathroom. She headed downstairs where Max was reading a book Brendan had lent him. The book contained information on the history of the Hoenn region.

"Oh good morning sweetie," her mother greeted. She had just finished setting up the plates.

"Morning mom," May greeted. She made her way to her chair and took a seat.

"Morning sis," Max said, not taking his eyes away from the book.

"Morning to you too Max," she responded sarcastically.

"Any big plans for today May," she heard her mother say from the kitchen.

May paused for a second as gathered her thoughts. "Mom… actually there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Are you ready to get married?" she joked, faking a gasp as well, which caused the girl's face to turn a deep shade of red. Max snorted from behind the book as May sent him a halfhearted glare.

"No mom, don't joke like that. It's something really important!" she asserted.

Sensing the seriousness in her tone Caroline responded. "Oh dear, well why don't we discuss what's on your mind after breakfast?"

May managed a nod as her mother placed the breakfast plates in front of everyone. May was quick to eat her breakfast while everyone else ate at a regular pace. She was soon done with her breakfast as she wiped her mouth clean and went to place her plate on the kitchen sink. When she saw that her mother was still busy she decided to kill a bit of time by going back up to her room and change out of her pajamas. As she was changing, she noticed the red bandanna Brendan had given her on their first Christmas laying flatly on the table. She walked over to it and picked it up and wrapped it around her head. She wondered if Brendan had ever worn the white hat she had given him as she had never seen him wearing it before.

From there she made her way downstairs where the table was cleared. Max was still sitting on the table reading while her mother hand migrated to the sofa to watch television.

May swallowed then took a deep breath as she made her way over to her mother. She was quick to notice the young girl as she turned around giving her a bright smile and a questioning look. "So dear what did you want to talk about?"

May nodded and took another breath before sitting next to her mother. She stared at her fidgeting hands for a moment trying to gain the courage to ask what she wanted. Her mother's reassuring hand on her shoulder calmed her down only slightly before taking a deep breath, picking her head up to look at her mother's eyes.

"Mom…" she began rather uneasily. "What should I do?"

Her mother kept giving her a questioning look like she was having trouble comprehending the question. And she was in fact having a hard time with the question. After all May's question was vague and she didn't provide any details which it made it harder for the mother to figure out how to respond. She thought that at the moment it would be best to ask her for more details as that way she could give a better answer.

"What do you mean by that dear?". She patted her daughter gently on the shoulder.

"I mean like, what should I do for my future? At this point I don't know anymore. There's times when I want to go out there and travel, yet there's also times when I want to stay home all day and not even think of going out. There's times when I get this strange feeling in my gut when Brendan is around yet the same feeling is replaced with something else when he leaves. Mom what should I do?"

Her mother looked uneasy for a moment as she was scratching the side of her face trying to think of an answer.

Finally, she responded, "May sweetie, there's nothing to worry about. Your father I won't pressure you into trying anything that makes you uncomfortable so rest assured."

"Mom be honest with me. Was there ever a time when you were younger that you felt unsure on what you wanted to do? Like no idea at all?"

"May I know where you're coming from. I've been in your position before," she began. She watched as her daughter raised her head to look at her in the eye again.

"What do you mean mom?" she asked.

"May, you see when I was growing up, I didn't really have any dreams. I was stuck thinking that perhaps I would be stuck living with my parents my entire life since they had never really given me any sort of goal to aim for nor did I feel like making any goals. It's not that hate them or anything, just that it would been better to have them there to give me ideas on what I could be," she paused for a moment and then continued. "May there is one thing though that I am proud of doing, and that was breaking out of that shell of uncertainty and trying to find my passion. I think that's exactly what you need right now, you need to break out of that shell to find what you want to do."

"But how can I do that mom? Like how did you do it then?" she asked.

"Well May it's going to be tough at first, but you will know your passion once you see it." She placed another hand on her shoulder. "May my passion came to me on a random day. My parents had taken me to see a play and when I saw those performers move on stage like that, I just knew that that was what I wanted to do. Of course, the road was tough, but once you find you want to do, you feel as if you're flying through the clouds."

From there she pointed to a trophy case lined with the many trophies Caroline had won when she was in the theater business. "May it makes me proud everyday when I think back of my accomplished dreams. It also makes me happy when I see you and Max each day healthy and happy. I don't regret for one moment leaving behind my passion to raise you two wonderful children," she said as she bought her daughter into a hug.

"Mom I still don't get it though," she said.

"Look at it this way, perhaps you're unsure on what you want to do because there is so much out there. Perhaps you wish to be a trainer, or a performer, or a baker, or a doctor, or a researcher and the list goes on and on. Perhaps there's external pressures coming from outside that are pushing somewhere you wish to not go, but as I said, maybe that push is what you need to find it. You know that spark that ignites a flame."

"So what you're saying is that I should review my options and pick out the best for me? That I should take a risk to see if it works?"

"Yeah let's put it that way," she joked. This earned a small smile from the girl.

"May there is something I want to ask you though," Caroline asked.

"What is it mom?"

"How do you feel about Brendan? You told me earlier that your stomach felt a strange feeling when he was around you and when he left? Care to explain."

May's face grew slightly red as she began explaining. She told her how the feeling would always appear when he was around. She described that it felt warm and comfortable. She had also told her how the feeling would soon turn to dread and loneliness once he was gone. She said that the second feeling was something that had been experiencing quite frequently, especially since the boy didn't spend as much time with May anymore. She said how sometimes she wished she could see him, but would fail to do so because he was busy with his work. And when they did meet, he would often act strange and awkward around her, like he wasn't his usual self.

Her mother could only offer a nod before a sly grin grew on her face. May knew exactly what was coming as her face had taken a deeper shade of red. "May…" she began. Her grin was growing larger as the seconds passed. "I think that feeling you told me about is love."

May stared at her mother with a blank look trying to comprehend what she said. Inside her mind a frantic war was being fought. There was the side that claimed that it was true while there was the side that denied it. Sure, she always thought of the boy as a great person, other than the facts he teased her, but wasn't love just pushing it. She did always feel safe and sound around him, but that didn't equal love did it? Did it? She looked back to her mother who was giving her that same smirk and realized that she had not said anything back.

"Is it mom? Is it really love that I'm feeling?"

"I don't know May, you tell me," she answered.

"But if it really is love and I confess and he doesn't feel the same then what then?" she asked with a concerned voice.

"May dear, if it really is love that you're feeling there, then you should gather the courage to tell him about it, who knows maybe he feels the same or not you never know."

"That's only an if mom, if he doesn't feel the same then our entire friendship could be destroyed," she exclaimed gloomfully.

"That's the biggest obstacle that comes with love, you never what the other person might feel. Think of it like climbing a large mountain to reach a goal."

"When should I do it then, if I feel that way then?" she asked. She was staring intently into her mother's eyes as she asked her question.

"That's for you do decide dear, but my guess would be before he leaves on his journey."

"That soon? I don-don't thi-think I could do it," she stuttered.

Her mother let out a long sigh as she bought May back into a hug. "Just follow what your gut tells you, I'm sure you'll be able to say it at the right moment."

"Thanks mom," she thanked. The sudden ring of a doorbell surprised the girl as she jumped up from the couch. "I'll get it," she said as she stood up to open the door. She clicked the door open to reveal a familiar face with messy brown hair. She noticed that instead of having the devil's mudfish on his head, a green wood gecko was sitting on it.

"Hey May," he said cheerfully waving his hand in a greeting. May was paralyzed at his sudden appearance to the point where she didn't respond back. "Hi Mrs. Maple and Max," he said about a second later.

"Hi Brendan," Caroline said. "What brings you here?"

"Hey Big Bro," Max said as he still had his nose in his book.

"Oh, I just need to show May something out in the woods," he said with a small blush growing on his face.

"Oh, you heard that May?" Caroline nudged her daughter. "So, when will you be back?" she asked when she noticed May looked shocked out her wits.

"Hopefully before sundown, it is a pretty long walk," he chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck.

"So will you come with me May?"

May snapped out of her stupor just in time to respond, "yeah sure why not?"

Brendan led May out of the town and into the woods. The warm spring air felt comfortable across her skin while the smell of flowers covered the area. Brendan had refused to tell her where he was taking her as he said it was a surprise and said he would even blindfold her if she kept asking questions.

They soon reached a large oak tree that May remembered from the time she had been chased the poochyena pack. Her skin slightly shivered as she recalled the memory but was brought of her flashback as a hand reached down to help her up. While she was lost daydreaming, she had failed to notice that her neighbor had already climbed the tree and was just waiting for her. She grabbed his hand and was lightly helped up in the branches. Like before she managed to make her way to where the boy was going with only minimal assistance.

"May if I remembered correctly I said I wanted to show you this view when spring arrived but I never got the chance to do so until now," he said as he sat on the same large branch they had sat on that day.

May took a seat next to him as she observed the sight in front of her. This time she was struck with complete awe. She saw large areas of the woods were colored pink by the cherry blossoms while the hills shone with multiple colors coming from the flowers. The sun was in the west side of the sky as it was already mid afternoon (It really was a long walk). A couple more hours and the sky would be tinted red and orange.

"It's beautiful," she managed to say through her amazement.

"Glad you liked it May, and I'm sorry about not showing you this view earlier," he apologized.

She turned to face him and shook her head, "there's no need to apologize, I know you've been busy and what not so I really appreciate you bringing me here."

He offered her a smile before he turned away as his face was looking uneasy. "Actually May, there's another reason why I bought you out here," he began.

She turned to look at him and she felt uncertainty creep up in her stomach. Her mind immediately started playing millions of colorful scenarios each with their own story and resolution.

"What is it?" she asked as she stared at the boy.

Brendan took a deep breath and put his hands on his knees. "May I know I never gave you the date that I would be leaving as I was also unsure myself so I would like to apologize for that. I just wanted to tell you that I would be leaving tomorrow," he said uneasily.

May stared at the boy for a second processing everything he had said. She knew that this day would be coming sooner or later but she was still unprepared to take in the statement. After a moment of awkward silence between the two May finally decided to give her input by enveloping her friend in a tight hug, a hug that might put a ursaring to shame. She noted that he had a pretty unique smell. He had a slight tint of antiseptic while also smelling a bit like… she couldn't describe it, but it felt a bit like apples and cinnamon.

"Brendan I…I...I…" she stuttered. She knew what she wanted to say but she just couldn't force it out.

"Brendan, I… I wish you the best of luck," she said eventually. She mentally cursed herself as she failed to admit her true feelings. Maybe it was for the best she thought. Maybe she would have held up his journey if she confessed and she didn't want to be responsible for him missing out on his dream.

"Thanks May," he responded as his own hug tightened around her. "I also wish you the best of luck."

May released herself from the hug and turned to look into his gray eyes. "What for?" she asked.

"For whatever you strive to be. For whatever your dreams are. No matter what they are I know you will be great," he said. May noticed the blush growing on his face and she could feel the heat rising to her face as well.

"You sure I'll be great?" she asked.

"Definitely, and if you decide that your dream involves pokemon, then just know that the lab and my dad will always be there to guide you."

"Thanks," she responded as he grabbed him into another hug. They stayed like that for a moment and climbed back down to head back into town. The sun had already begun to set when they reached the entrance and they said their goodbyes as they headed home.

May opened her front door to see her mother questioning her with prying eyes. May tried to ignore the sensation as she made her way to her room to think about herself. She soon plopped down on her bed and began to ponder on what she really wanted to be.

"So dear how did it go?" Caroline asked. She had made her way into her room carrying a large serving of dinner and set it on her bedside table. She then took a seat next to her daughter.

"Mom he's leaving tomorrow and I failed to tell him," she muttered. Caroline had helped pick May up and embraced her in a tight hug.

"Don't worry honey, I'm sure there will be other chances. Just look at me and your father," she joked. "It took me months for me to finally confess how I felt, so I'm sure you'll have other chances," Caroline reassured.

"Thanks mom," May replied as she grabbed her dinner and began eating.

"Why don't we see him tomorrow then? I'm sure he would love to see you before he leaves."

May managed a grin and a nod as she continued eating her dinner.

* * *

 _Get it together man,_ Brendan thought as he was laying down on his bed with his three pokemon laying on top of him. _I know I said I wasn't going to try again but,_ _I had the perfect opportunity there to tell her how I feel, but I chickened out at the last moment again._

"Gah!" he yelled as he stood up and messed up his hair with his hands. He sat back down after a moment and kept thinking.

 _I think it's for the best actually. I'm sure she doesn't feel the same and it would just be awkward if confessed out of nowhere and she didn't feel the same._

Zen had moved to whisper something to the two other pokemon. As soon as he was done, the three turned to look at the boy and started to make smooching faces.

Brendan's face had grown red in embarrassment and he threw his pillows at the pokemon which started an all-out pillow war in the room.

* * *

AN: honestly I found it extremely hard to write this chapter since I always have a hard time writing out issues such as growing up and guiding people, so I did my best. This chapter also gave another parent a bit of spotlight which is always nice and we got to see how May feels about her neighbor, although like him she also failed to get her point across. Not much else to say, so look forward to the next chapter and as Theiampinaylove asked in the last chapter, their separation is getting near =(.


	23. Goodbye and Goodluck

Hi everyone, it's been a while since i've updated and I would like to apologize for that. My summer classes and job have been taking up all my time lately and I've hardy had the time to sit down and write something down. Anyways, welcome to chapter twenty three of this story and hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 23- Goodbye and Goodluck

"Let's see. Everything seems to be in place," Brendan muttered as he was shuffling through his backpack for maybe the millionth time in that past hour.

"Yep everything seems to be in order, mom was even able to pack all the cooking stuff inside so we won't starve while on the road guys," he joked.

The three pokemon who were sitting on the bed gave him their nods and smiles as they were also ecstatic about finally getting to accompany the boy in his journey. Out of the three however, was one pokemon that had waited well over seven years for this day. He was more than ready to face anything the world threw at him and even vowed to protect his trainer with his life.

Brendan walked over to his desk where a couple of his books laid. He made sure that he would be well prepared for anything Hoenn could throw at him by further reading about the land's climate and environment. After all, one can never be too prepared.

He placed the books back on his shelf then walked over to his mirror to see how he looked wearing his traveling outfit. At the moment the outfit fit him maybe a bit too big, but he was sure he would grow into it. He looked at his dark brown messy hair noticing that maybe he should have gotten a haircut before leaving but brushed it off a second later.

He grabbed the white hat May had given him from his desk and went back to the mirror to see himself. The first thing he noticed is that his hat made it look like he had white hair.

"I wonder if people will think I have white hair and mistake me for a grandpa," he joked. He noticed that the hat fit his head rather well but also saw that in the nape of his neck, his messy hair was sticking out. His sideburns were also slightly sticking out as well.

"Maybe I should have gotten that haircut after all," he muttered with slight concern in his voice, but like before, decided to not let it bother him.

"Come on guys," he called out to the pokemon as he opened the door to his room and went downstairs to eat breakfast. As he was walking down he could hear his mother's frantic footsteps running across the kitchen and in the dining room. As he reached the bottom, his eyes nearly bulged as he saw the amount of food present on the table. It looked as if his mother was trying to fatten everyone in town up for the upcoming winter.

"Oh, good morning honey," he heard. His mother had quickly come into the dining room setting down more plates. She ran back to the kitchen once she had set down the plates.

"Mom is the entire town coming over?" he asked. He quickly took his seat and waited until his mom came back in to answer him.

"No honey, it's just that you gotta have your energy when you go traveling, now you four eat up," she said.

Brendan and his pokemon were more than happy to comply as he grabbed his knife and fork and had a devilish look on his face.

He looked like as if Giratina had possessed him. Before anyone knew it, the food had been cleanly wiped out of all the plates. His pokemon had done the same.

"Well young boys gotta eat," his mother commented. "You sure you should be leaving today? Why not wait a little longer, you know I can still teach you a bit more if you want?"

"Mom I already told you, it's alright. There's no need to worry, besides you said that you've taught me almost everything you know so it should be alright."

"I know, but I just can't help it you know," she responded taking a seat across from him.

"By the way has dad eaten yet?" he asked.

"Nah your father is still asleep. He said he has a surprise to give you."

"Then maybe I should go wake him up then," he giggled.

The two laughed for a couple seconds before hearing the opening of a door. Out came a groggy professor Birch wearing his blue pajamas with his messy brown hair looking like a bird's nest.

"You two sure are quite energetic this morning huh?"

"Of course, Dad, after all I'm leaving on my journey so I had to make sure that everything was taken care of."

Birch managed a nod as he went to the bathroom to freshen up. He came out a couple minutes later, all his grogginess gone and wearing his usual lab attire. He seemed to be holding something behind his back. He then made his way towards his son where he said, "Brendan my boy, I think it's about time I give you this."

He pulled out a small red device that had the appearance of a portable gaming console with a large white pokeball design button to the left. The device's screen was also covered by a red flip up lid. There were also two small rectangular shaped buttons below the screen a large circular green button to the bottom left of the screen.

"It's a pokedex son, make sure you take good care of it."

"Oh wow thanks Dad," he soon responded as he took the device from his father's hands and began looking through its features.

"I think it was about time I gave you one after all your hard work at the lab. The pokedex will also serve to provide you with information on pokemon all across the region and it will also help my research as the data will be sent to the lab for me to analyze," the professor said.

"Thanks dad, I don't even know what to say," he responded with a large grin. Both his parents couldn't help but smile along with him.

"So honey you made sure you have everything right?" Lisa asked as she eyed Brendan's bag hanging from his chair.

"Yeah mom, I checked by bag multiple times to see if everything was in there."

"Well here's a surprise from me," she gleamed, standing up and heading into the kitchen again. She came back about a minute later carrying in her arms an enormous cardboard box that was loaded with as many snacks as the boy could imagine. "All of this can fit inside right?" she asked.

"Yep and there will still be plenty of room to spare. Isn't technology just great mom?"

"I'll say," Professor Birch commented. "Trainers today could carry their entire house in their bags if they wanted to," taking a sip from his coffee.

"With all the food Mom is packing I'm surprised she hasn't stuffed the fridge in my bag," Brendan joked.

"This should at least be enough to get you through a day," Lisa joked back, handing the large box to the boy. "Make sure you don't eat it all in one go."

"Don't worry mom I won't."

From there the boy took the box where his bag was able to shrink its size to the size of a small cellphone. From there he arranged the box into the many small compartments within the bag.

The three spent the next couple of minutes talking about what they would do from now on. Lisa had commented that she would feel lonely once Brendan left and their neighbors moved out. She had also said she wanted Brendan to call home any chance he got just to make sure he was doing alright. Brendan of course tried to reassure her, but there was still that worry present on the mothers face.

Professor Birch had joked, that with his son now gone, he would need to find some other person to deal with him. He was sure that everyone in the lab was sick of dealing with the professor's antics of getting attacked by pokemon every time he stepped into the woods and all his messy paperwork that had to be arranged. Nobody understood how the man was able to make a complete mess of paper in just a few seconds. The professor then ate his meal and told his son that would probably be time to leave soon.

* * *

A young boy with messy dark brown hair and brilliant sapphire eyes was running down the long stretch of a white sandy beach. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon coloring the sky in a bright red and orange hue while some of the stars could already be seen due to the diminishing light.

Walking behind the young boy walked a young man and woman holding hands. The young man was tall with messy dark brown hair and gray eyes. He was wearing dark blue swimming trunks along with white t-shirt. He was also wearing a straw hat.

The young woman next to him was wearing a simple white sundress paired with a large straw hat with a blue ribbon tied around it that matched the color of her eyes. Her eyes were of a sapphire color while she had light brown hair styled in an upside down "V".

"Mom, Dad come on or we won't see the finneon," the young boy waved at his parents.

"Hold on hold on, we'll be there," the young woman said as they made their way to where the boy was standing. "Seriously Brendan our son looks like he inherited your energy," she sighed.

"It's not such a bad thing is it?" he asked with a wide grin as they made their way closer to the water's edge.

"Mom, Dad why don't you let your water pokemon out? Maybe they can attract the pokemon."

"Or scare them away," Brendan joked. He reached for his waist where he pulled out two pokeballs. May did the same as she reached for her own waist pulling out a single pokeball.

"Blastoise take the stage!" May commanded. She released the pokemon inside revealing the sight of a large blue bipedal turtle with two enormous cannons on its shoulders. He let out a loud greeting as he was released then jumped into the water.

"Skipper, Mimi come on out," Brendan commanded. From the first pokeball appeared a large blue bipedal pokemon with large orange gills protruding from the right and left sides of his cheeks. The pokemon also had two large black fins extending from its head with a large black fin making up its tail. The pokemon looked over to the young women and hydro pumped her in the face earning furious screams from her.

The second pokemon had a long cream-colored serpentine body with long pink antenna from its head and long pink hair like fins extending from its head. Its lower body had a blue and red scale pattern along with a large tail that contained four large blue fins with pink oval centers. The pokemon let out a loud hum and made her way into the water along with the other two.

The three pokemon played in the water for a minute before the sun had completely set. From the distance the pokemon, along from the family could see the ocean beginning to shine in a bright white color. Soon the spots on the ocean approached the shore and shone brilliantly.

The scene slowly disappeared and a soft motherly voice along with a couple of shakes to the shoulders woke a young brown-haired girl drawing her out of her dream.

"May, May, May come on wake up or you won't be able to say your goodbyes," her mother said.

"Goodbye to who mom?" she asked in a groggy voice. She pulled her blanket over herself hoping to return to the wonderful dream she was having.

"May have you already forgotten, Brendan is leaving today and it looks like he's already ready to leave."

At the sound of his name May immediately jumped to her feet and ran downstairs as fast as she could. She placed her shoes on in a hurried manner before opening the front door and running to the town's exit. There she saw Brendan along with parents and the boy looked like he was about to leave as he had his back turned and had begun to walk.

Mustering up everything she had she called out, "BRENDAN WAIT!"

* * *

All three family members soon stood up from the table. Brendan returned his pokemon to their pokeballs and they headed out the door to the town's exit. There they stood for a couple more minutes with the professor giving Brendan more tips on what he should do on his journey while his mother looked like she was about to cry her eyes out.

The poor woman couldn't hold it in anymore as she grabbed her son and pulled him into a tight hug. She noticed that he was now taller than she was and said, "even if you're not by little boy anymore I can't help but worry, stay safe out there ok?"

"Mom come on this is embarrassing," he protested as his mother hugged him more tightly. Professor Birch who had been watching from the side joined in the hug as he held both of his loved ones close.

After a minute they all pulled back and Brendan turned to leave before a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned around to see his mother's teary face. Those weren't tears of sadness but tears of joy and that of a proud parent.

"Don't push yourself too hard out there and remember that if anything happens you'll always be welcomed back home. Now go get em honey! she exclaimed as she desperately wiped the tears out of her eyes.

"Thanks mom," he responded as he turned back around to the town's exit. This time it wasn't his mother or her hand on his shoulder that interrupted him but a loud yell.

"BRENDAN WAIT!" he heard a loud familiar voice. He turned around again to see his next-door neighbor, who was still wearing her pajamas, running at full speed towards him. He didn't have time to react as she quickly embraced him in a tight hug. His face was now beginning to grow a shade of red before he heard May say, "good luck out there, I hope that your dreams come true."

"Than-thanks May," he responded through his burning face.

As May was hugging him she noticed that the boy had grown even more. Her head now only reached up to his chin and if she was being honest he was growing to be quite handsome. She gently let go and faced him noticing that he was wearing the white hat. Her eyes lit up knowing that the hat finally fit him and she felt a warm feeling in her gut.

"Good luck out there bro," Max said. Brendan had barely noticed that he had joined the fray as his attention was being occupied by May.

"Thanks Max," he responded as their pair high fived. "You know, you guys are free to go into my room and play the games or read some of the books if you want. Just make sure not to make a mess," he joked which earned large grins from May and Max.

"I wish you the best of luck out the Brendan," Caroline said. Brendan had also failed to notice her as his attention had been in other places. She pulled him into a hug and patted him on the head. "You sure have grown since we've first met. I bet Norman would be glad to see you now."

"Thanks Mrs. Maple."

Brendan didn't expect everyone in town to say goodbye as multiple other people had made their way out of their homes and to the town's exit. The Owens and Phillips were the first to arrive quickly followed by the Clarke's. Mrs. Adams and Mr. Hayes followed soon after. Since Littleroot was so small, everyone in town knew each other and cared for each other.

"All of Littleroot will be cheering for you when you make it to the Ever Grande Conference," they said, holding their fists up in the air.

"Thanks guys, I can't even begin to say my thanks. I'll make sure to do my best," he beamed.

After yet another hug fest his parents soon placed their hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him towards the town's exit. He looked back to see everyone's smiling faces then looked forwards to the vast region that was now his to explore. The gentle breeze swept many cherry blossoms into the air creating a beautiful natural scenery.

From there everyone back in town saw as the boy's figure disappeared into the woods. Everyone went back to their regular business but May along Brendan's parents were still out there staring at the exit. Professor Birch was holding his crying wife while May could only stare at the exit. She looked at the exit with longing eyes.

"Brendan, I love you," she muttered through the gentle spring wind carrying the pink petals.

* * *

AN: So May finally admits that she has feelings for a certain someone and she even had a dream about their future. It's safe to say that they do end up together at one point, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to save that for another story.

I will try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible so look forward to that and thanks for reading!


	24. The Move

Hi everyone and welcome back to chapter twenty four of this story. I originally had a more dramatic idea for this chapter, but it wasn't working out too well, so I just sticked to my usual sunshine and rainbows. Hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 24- The Move

May had just finished placing the last of her items into the boxes. Her father had decided that it would be more convenient for the family to move to Petalburg rather than staying in Littleroot. After all, Petalburg had more attractions but it didn't possess the same small-town charm Littleroot had. Of course, May had tried to convince her father not to have them move, but this time she was outnumbered as both Max and her mother thought it would be best to move.

She sat down on her bed gazing at the framed picture of her and Brendan that was taken about a year ago at New Year's Eve. Brendan was wearing the Mario cap he won while holding May in a headlock and smiling at his mischief.

She would be lying to herself if she said she didn't miss him. She missed his cheerful attitude, his teasing and may she even admit that she missed getting water gunned to the face. Sure the action was obnoxious, but she had gotten accustomed to it to a point where it felt strange that she didn't end at wet at some point in the day.

She laid down at her bed and stared at her ceiling for a minute. She looked at her window that had their curtains removed and only showed the white blinds. She looked at the many boxes stacked across the room like a box castle where a pretend princess would play.

Without all the pictures hanging on her walls, her room appeared much bigger than it really was.

"I'm really gonna miss Littleroot," she sighed. She was going to miss the calm and welcoming atmosphere. She was going miss the many kind people she met. She was going miss all the nature that surrounded the town. But most of all, she was going miss a certain brown-haired boy she had met eight years ago.

"May the moving truck arrived," she heard coming from downstairs. She stood up and made her way to her window where she opened the blinds to find the large moving truck parked outside of her house where many machokes were already making their way inside the house.

She made her way downstairs where she saw her mother already giving the machoke directions on where the move everything. Although the machoke were highly trained in moving, they would occasionally cause an accident so one could never be too careful. May also noticed that Max was standing next to her mother observing the machoke with admiring eyes.

"Oh May, Max why don't you guys go visit Lisa while we get everything sorted out?" Caroline asked.

"Alright mom," they both responded. They weaved their way across the machoke that were already working by picking up some of the heavy furniture along with many boxes. Once they made their way outside, they were greeted by the hot summer air. The cherry blossoms had long since abandoned their pink flowers and were gently swaying in the light wind.

"So Sis are you excited to move closer to Dad. I really want to spend more time with him." Max asked as they made their way to their neighbor's house.

"Well Max, I'm not so sure myself. Part of me is glad that I will be able to see Dad more a lot more often, but there's also a part of me that will miss this little town," May responded.

"I know what you mean Sis," Max began and then took a deep breath. "This little town is the one where I've lived all my life and it will be hard to leave, but I think that living closer to dad will be better for all of us."

"Yeah I know that, but still it's hard to leave after living here for so long."

They had reached the front door to their neighbor's house and May rang the doorbell. A distant familiar "coming" was heard from inside and the door clicked and was pulled open revealing Lisa Birch.

"Oh May, Max what brings you here?" she asked.

"Hi Mrs. Birch. My mom thought that we should stay here while the movers get everything in place," May said.

"Oh then you're more than welcome. Although those machokes are expert movers, it would be much faster for them to get their work done with less people around. Come on in," she welcomed motioning for them to enter.

"Thanks," they both responded. They each removed their shoes and placed them near the front door. They went to sit in the living room where Mrs. Birch had brought in a plate of her famous chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk for each of them. May's eyes glowed as she saw the plate stacked with the delicious confections.

When May asked Mrs. Birch what she added to make her cookies so delicious, she responded that it was love. May would've definitely believed her if Brendan hadn't whispered in her ear the actual secret ingredient. According to him, his mother just added a bunch of sugar to the recipe, like way more than what the recipe called for. Enough to give a raticate and bidoof a toothache.

Part of her still believed that love was the secret ingredient despite Brendan's claims though.

After a couple of minutes of stuffing her face with the sweet confection May drank her entire glass of milk in one gulp. Max, who normally didn't eat like a snorlax, had devoured his cookies as well.

Apparently, no one was immune to the deliciousness of her cookies. Even the town's bakers couldn't resist them.

"Why don't you kids head to Brendan's room and play a game. Maybe read a book while you're up there," Lisa suggested, taking a seat on the couch so she could face the tv.

"Mrs. Birch do you want to get rid of us?" May joked.

"Yes, but only because the Real Housewives of Hoenn is on," she smiled.

Both siblings offered her their smiles before making their way up the stairs to Brendan's room. Mrs. Birch had told them to call her if they needed anything. They entered the room to find that it was mostly the same as when the boy had left. Even the books he had been reading that morning were still on table like his mother wanted to keep the room unchanged for when he returned.

The large snorlax plush was still laying on top of the blue rug in front of his television and gaming system. The small bookshelves and desk all had their pokedolls placed on them in an orderly fashion. Around his desk were also picture frames of the boy and his parents along with his pokemon and a couple of his friends.

There were two particular photos that always caught May's eye. The first of which featured Brendan standing in the middle with Skipper on top of his head like always. Drake was standing by his feet while Zen was in the boy's arm. To his side stood the professor with Toto by his feet and Mrs. Birch stood on the other side. May couldn't help but feel warm at seeing their little family.

The second photo was again the photo of the three boys each holding their own pokemon. The taller boy to the right always caught May's attention as she had sometimes seen him on television, but she had always failed to ask Brendan how the three of them were doing.

"So May what are you gonna do?" Max asked, laying down comfortably on the snorlax.

"I don't know Max. Maybe I could play a game, although I can't guarantee that I'll win," she sighed.

"Yeah you're really bad at those," Max retorted. The comment caused May to walk over to him and begin pinching his cheeks like a grandmother would. After several protests from the boy, May finally let go and went to sit on the bed.

"Guess I'll just read some books then," Max said. He had spent the last minute rubbing his pained red cheeks.

May could only nod as she stared at the room. Sure, she had been to his room before, but most of the time Brendan was always present to keep her company. He would always come up with the strangest ideas for them to have fun and she somehow got pulled into them. Although she was sometimes reluctant to follow after him sometimes, she always ended up enjoying whatever they did together. Well except for those rare times he talked about classic literature. At those times, May would begin drowsing as soon as he uttered the first word and sometimes he would have Skipper wake her up by his usual methods. She would always yell out in annoyance afterwards and chase the boy around until they tired out and sat back down to play some games or maybe enjoy some of his mother's cooking.

After a couple more minutes of remembering her past, May decided that maybe she would play some of his games. She decided that even though she was bad at the games, she at least couldn't lose against the computer right? Right?

"You have got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed after a half hour of playing games. "Even against the computer I lose."

Max had stopped his reading to turn respond to his sister. "Wow sis you're not bad at games but you're terrible at them-youch!" he exclaimed. May had quickly made her way to pinch her brother's cheeks like before.

"You can't take a joke can you sis?" he asked. Again he was rubbing his pained cheeks.

"Humph I bet Brendan rigged the game so I would always lose." She crossed her arms and turned away from the system in annoyance.

"Sis you really are a sore loser," Max muttered under his breath so his sister couldn't hear. He really didn't want to get another vicious attack to his cheeks.

For the next hour, May managed to claim a couple victories against the computer while Max kept reading at the desk. Max then played together with May with May losing the majority of matches like always. After a losing streak she had migrated away from the television and to the desk. She glanced at the book Max was reading and was about to turn her head if it wasn't for a set of words that caught her attention.

' _The Moon is Beautiful, Isn't It,' an expression often used to convey one's affection towards another. Can be used instead of saying 'I Love You.'_

Immediately May's mind ran back to underneath the tree during the Harvest Festival.

* * *

"The Moon is beautiful, isn't it?" he said as he looked at May's direction then back up at the moon.

May slowly picked herself up and looked at the brilliant shining orb. After a moment she said, "yeah it really is beautiful."

* * *

May could begin to feel her face a deep shade of red and the also felt like she was being boiled alive. A million thoughts had begun running through her mind before her mind went blank.

If this was like one of those tv shows she had seen on Tv, then maybe she would be suffering from a nosebleed at this very moment.

"Max… I need to talk to mom. I'll be right back," she said hurriedly. She didn't hear her brother's response as she quickly made her way downstairs putting her shoes on. She didn't hear Mrs. Birch's talk as she quickly made her way out the door and into her house. As she was running the short distance, May noticed that the moving truck was almost completely filled with boxes and furniture.

She quickly weaved her way across the many machoke receiving weird looks from them but she paid them no mind as she had a single mission on her mind.

"Mom!" she called out as she stood in the nearly empty living room.

"Honey what's wrong?" she asked. She had come in from her bedroom holding a couple of boxes.

May ran towards her mother, her face still red, and began fidgetting with her hair.

"Do you remember that one time I told you I may or may not like Brendan?" she asked.

"Oh ho are we having this conversation? So what's it about this time?" she giggled.

"Well mom let's just say that… I may have found something that shows that he might like be a lot. You know like like like, not as a friend but as a girl… girl… girlfri…" May was struggling to get the last word out.

"As a girlfriend you mean?" Caroline asked.

"Yes that word! Just like that!" She pointed towards her mother. "Back at the Harvest Festival before the fireworks started… we were both sitting underneath a tree waiting for it to begin and then he said, 'The Moon is Beautiful isn't it."

"I thought he was talking about the moon and not about love," she said.

"But honey isn't wonderful? Isn't wonderful that you know how he truly felt?"

"Well kind of. All this time I thought it was about the moon and I never gave him an answer. What should I do mom?"

"May don't worry about it too much. If he still loves you then I'm sure he will make his way back to tell you so let's just calm down for a moment and we'll get everything fixed up alright?"

A million thoughts were running through May's thoughts. _Maybe Brendan doesn't love me anymore. Maybe he thought that I was blowing him off by not responded. Maybe he was mad that I didn't respond. Maybe he felt that I wasn't the one for him. Gosh May why? Why? Why couldn't you have given him your answer back then? But now that I know what will he think of me? Will he think the same of me after all this time? Arceus this is so messed up. What should I do?_

Max had made his way into their now empty home. He looked at the empty rooms with sadness in his eyes. This was after all the place where he had grown up all his life and he could feel a lump well up in his throat as his mother motioned for him to exit their old home.

For the rest of the day, May had been stuck in her thoughts of a teenage girl learning about love that even when the neighbors had come to give their farewells she had been distracted.

They had all offered the family gifts for their new home as well giving them the "Littleroot Goodbye Salute."

Make sure you guys come visit us sometime," Mrs. Birch said. She had enveloped Caroline in a tight hug along with Max and May.

"May, remember that if you ever want to become a trainer, I'm more than happy to help you out." the professor had offered everyone a handshake. May managed a nod as her head was still stuck in her thoughts.

"Thanks everyone. It was great living in this wonderful little town," Caroline thanked. She was already climbing onto the moving truck before she was enveloped in another hug by Lisa. The two women soon broke their hug and Caroline along with May and Max climbed on.

The truck had started to move leaving the trees of the town behind and onto the dirt path of the route to Oldale. From there their path lead to Petalburg where the city's bright lights dotted the skyline even from a distance.

They soon arrived into the city where the truck drove to the front of the gym. From there the machoke got to work as they began unpacking all the families belongings and moving them to the gym's living quarters.

"It's great to see that you all made it here safe and sound," they heard Norman's voice as he was exiting the gym.

The three family members were soon embraced in a tight hug by him then motioned to the Machoke to begin arranging their. Norman had noticed that his daughter had seemed slightly strange, but when he commented on it, May told him that everything was alright. He looked at his wife to ask her what was going on and his eyes widened when she told him the entire story.

Then then placed a reassuring hand on May's shoulder. "You know May, I have Brendan's phone number with me. You can give him a call if you want. He was also here in Petalburg about three months ago and he's doing just fine."

"Umm actually Dad… I was maybe thinking of becoming a trainer and maybe going out there to find him in person," she fumbled.

"Oh it's like one of those love stories you see on Tv. So cute," Caroline gushed.

"Well May, why don't you give it a bit more thought and we'll talk later. Right now we need to finish unpacking," Norman nodded.

May nodded and began imagining of what life as a trainer could entail.

The machoke had soon arranged the furniture in a fashion that was similar to that of their old home. May get up to her room to find that it was almost completely the same. Her desk, her drawers, her bed were all in the same position as before. For a second she admired the expertise of the pokemon's attention to detail before plopping down on her bed and falling asleep to her thoughts.

* * *

AN: so looks like May finally realized what Brendan meant to say on that night after about maybe a year. also next chapter is the last one, and I would like to thank everyone that had stayed with me for this long, I really appreciate it. Also next chapter, we should see a very familiar face from the pokemon anime make an appearance.

As always I hope you guys enjoyed and hope to see you all next chapter!


	25. An Adventure Begins

Hi everyone and welcome to the final chapter of this fanfic. This chapter will basically follow the anime with just some minor differences here and there. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 25: An Adventure Begins

It had taken well over a month, but the brown-haired girl was finally getting accustomed to living in her new home. Contrary to what she had thought before they moved, she didn't hate the experience of living in a big city. Sure, the city had a lot more people and more noise, but it also had a lot more to do than the little town she used to live in.

Currently May was leaning up against her wall with a hand placed on her chest. She had decided why not at least give traveling with pokemon a chance, but she was unsure on where to begin. After much debate with herself, she had finally decided that maybe even tomorrow would be an ideal time to begin. Her original reason for traveling was just to go around the world trying out famous restaurants and shops, but now she wanted to know if she would be a great trainer and for another reason as well.

She took a deep breath and opened the door to her room which lead her to the living room where both of her parents were sitting on the couch watching the evening news.

"Mom, Dad," she called out. She waited for a moment as her parent's attention was turned to her.

"What is it sweetie?" her mother asked.

"Mom you know I think it might be time for me to go out and see the world with pokemon. Who knows maybe I'll be a good trainer." She paused for a moment as she thought of her next words she laughed a bit at herself as well.. Her parents were looking at her with analyzing eyes. "What I'm trying to say is… Mom, Dad I would like to become a pokemon trainer. Maybe even start tomorrow."

Norman's eyes widened in surprise as he jumped to his feet and embraced his daughter. "That's wonderful May!" He exclaimed.

"Oh sweetie that's wonderful. I hope you find everything you want when you travel," her mother exclaimed. She had also made her way to embrace her daughter in a tight hug.

"If I may ask May, what made you decide on starting so quickly?" Norman asked.

May's face grew a slight shade of red at the question. It's true that she wanted to travel around the world, but the other reason why she wanted to travel was to find the boy she was in love with. She wanted to see him again in person instead of on the phone like they had talked before a couple of times. No matter how many times she tried to confess her feelings, she always failed to gather the courage to tell him. The fact that she wouldn't see his face when she told him disheartened her. Besides she also thought that she should tell him something like that in person rather than on the phone.

Norman, who had noticed his daughter's blushing face, was quick to change the subject. "Ah I see it's like that." He teased.

May's face a grown a shade darker and simply nodded.

May looked over to her mother's direction giving her a firm nod. Caroline nodded back and responded, "I'll help you get your bag ready for the trip to Littleroot then."

"I'll make sure to call Birch to let him know that you'll be headed there tomorrow," Norman cut across.

"Thanks Mom, Dad," May said with loud sigh. She was relieved that her parents didn't put up a fight when it came to her leaving.

Norman soon called the professor and told him that May would be going to town the following morning. The professor was of course ecstatic about May's decision but he did say that she might have to look for him in the woods since he would be doing fieldwork although he would try to be at the lab for her. He also said that if he wasn't available, then Joshua would be more than happy to help her.

Caroline had moved to look at May's yellow fanny pack where she began helping her pack for the trip. Since the trip to Littleroot wouldn't be too long she packed enough to last her for the trip. She made sure to pack her an enormous number of snacks since she knew she would probably get hungry along the way. After she and May finished packing the bag, Caroline suggested that May get a good night's rest for her to leave the early in the morning.

May took her suggestion as she quickly made her way to her room and changed into her pajamas. She turned off the lights then plopped down on the bed. As she was staring at the ceiling she was met by the sweet embrace of sleep.

* * *

May woke up the following morning to find an outfit laying on her desk that she had never worn before. She stepped up to her desk where she saw a note placed on top of the shirt.

The note read, "Make sure you get changed sweetie, your father and I got you these clothes so you can travel."

May gave the note a smile and began changing out of her pajamas. When she was done she stepped in front of her mirror to admire her reflection. She was wearing a red collared shirt with a navy-blue semi-circle present near the collar. She was also wearing a white miniskirt placed over dark biker shorts. Her parents had also gotten her white and blue gloves as well as black ankle socks. Her shoes were read and contained black and yellow stripes. She just couldn't stop admiring her reflection as she looked like a professional trainer.

After another minute she made her way to the dining room where her family was already having breakfast. Max was wearing the same school uniform Brendan wore when he was Max's age. Her parents were wearing their usual outfits.

"Oh good morning sweetie, don't you just look great," her mother gushed.

May felt a slight blush growing at her cheeks at her mother's compliment but it soon turned into a halfhearted glare at the comment made by her brother. He said, "you look like a boy sis."

May didn't get to make a comeback as her mother had placed a large plate of her breakfast in front of her daughter to eat. As soon as she was done, her father told her that she could leave whenever she liked. He just warned that she should stay on the main road and not go into the woods unless she wanted to get attacked by wild pokemon. He also suggested that she take her bike as it would make the trip there and back much shorter. From there Caroline walked Max to the same school May had attended in her younger years.

Norman also said his goodbyes as he would go down to gym for business like always. May said her goodbye as well. She made her way back to her room where she wrapped her red bandanna around her head and placed her yellow fanny pack on her waist.

From there she made her way outside where she picked up her bike and rode onto the path to Oldale Town. The path to Oldale took her much longer than expected as she arrived in town at around noon. She decided to stop in town to have lunch before making her way to Littleroot.

After a rather quick lunch, May was ready for the final stretch of her small journey. Again, she got on her bike again and almost made it to Littleroot if it wasn't for an eerie ghost type sneaking besides her which caused her to go off the main road and crash headfirst into a tree. She was sure a certain someone would have been dying of laughter had they been present.

"I-guess-I-should-of-worn-a-helmet," she managed to say before collapsing onto the ground.

She got on her bike again after a couple of minutes of rubbing her pained head and cycled up a hill until she reached the top of cliffside where the vast ocean lay in front of her. She noted that there was a ship coming onto the region before she made her way to town.

"Sorry May but the professor is out at the moment," Joshua said.

"Don't worry about it Joshua, why I don't I go find him then? She said and before Joshua could make a remark she was already riding into the woods.

She would have kept riding if it wasn't for the familiar cries of "help" she heard coming from a distance.

When she arrived at the source of the cries, she found Professor Birch high up on a tree while three poochyena were barking and growling from beneath. May didn't know if she should feel concerned or amused by the antics of the professor.

"Ah May it's great to see you again," he said a in scared voice. "Why don't you open my bag over there and help me out a bit," he pleaded.

"Alright," she replied. She made her way to his bag where three pokeballs were laying inside. She took a random one and to her utter horror came out a pokemon she was very familiar with. The pokemon only looked at her for a second, having sensed the displeasure for the mudkip line, and sprayed her in the face before she could yell out a command.

The thought she heard the professor chortle from the branch before he fell from the tree.

"Why do all mudkips hate me?" she asked.

* * *

The rest of the day didn't turn out as well as her she met a boy named Ash who barbecued her bike. She also met a group of criminals that tried to take the boy's Pikachu. There was also a point where May almost facepalmed when Ash thought treecko was a water type. Sure she wasn't the most knowledgeable person when it came to pokemon, but she could at least tell that treecko did not even have the appearance of a water type. She could also see that the professor was trying hard not to facepalm as well.

But it wasn't a completely bad day as she was able to pick her starter pokemon. Of course she was not going to pick mudkip after the incident and treecko merely ignored her. The only pokemon that even seemed to give her the time of day was torchic as he had made his way to cuddle against May's legs to show his affection. In the end she ended up picking torchic to be her partner.

The professor congratulated on her on choice and handed her five pokeballs as well as a pokedex. She went outside to examine her ruined bike and thought she should make Ash "pay" until she saw him sleeping along with Pikachu. Now that she thought about it, Ash kinda reminded May of Brendan. Ash seemed to have the same energy and love for pokemon that her former neighbor did. Although she hoped that Ash wouldn't tease her relentlessly like her neighbor did.

After they made sure Pikachu was alright, May offered Ash to guide him to Petalburg city where he could challenge the gym leader there.

The trip had taken much longer than expected as the pair stopped at Oldale Town where there was a strange environmentalist group involved in the ruins causing them to spend too much time there.

They had finally arrived at Petalburg after a couple of hours of tired walking. Ash had asked May where the gym was and she just told him the general direction while she went in a different direction.

As he arrived at the gym, Ash found out that it was empty and called out for the leader for a challenge.

A dark-haired boy with large glasses appeared claiming that he was the gym leader. Ash could only raise an eyebrow at the claim, but they soon began to argue when the boy decided to push his buttons.

"You're Aft aren't you? You lost at the second round of the Silver Conference," Max teased.

"It was the Championship I already told you! And it's Ash not Aft," Ash exclaimed. The two males glared daggers at each other before May along with her parents popped into the conversation from the window.

May soon introduced Ash to her parents and Max asked May what pokemon she had chosen. May released her torchic onto the floor where Max stared at him for a minute.

"Really May you choose that thing? Why didn't you choose treecko or mudkip like Brendan did?" he asked.

Torchic, having sensed the boy's displeasure, started pecking him on the back as May covered her mouth trying to avoid laughing and Ash had a wide smirk on his face. Now May knew why Brendan always laughed at her when Skipper water gunned her. It was just so funny to see another person's misfortune.

Norman and Caroline invited Ash to have lunch with them. Norman asked Ash about his travels where explained how he participated in the Kanto, and Johto League as well as the Orange Islands. He also mentioned how he used to travel with his old friends. Max popped into the conversation saying how he would just love to travel once he got older. Max had to practically beg his dad to give him permission to travel along with Ash and May.

Norman, although skeptical at first, finally agreed to grant his son special permission that excuse him from school in order to travel with his sister.

Ash was also told by Norman that it would be best if the boy came back to challenge him when he had at least five badges to his name. He had also told the boy that he needed at least three pokemon to use during their battle, so a battle between them at the moment was not possible since Ash only had Pikachu.

Ash could only sigh in defeat as he heard those words. He had come all the way to Petalburg just to be told that he couldn't challenge the gym.

After it was all set and done the three packed their bags for the journey. Norman had also given Max a yellow device known as a PokeNav to help them out in their travels. May's parents wished them all luck as they saw them leave the gym and onto the city.

"So Max said something about a Brendan guy, who is he? Ash asked. They were currently walking down the sparse streets of the city.

"Oh he's Professor Birch's son and May's boyfriend," Max teased.

"He's not my boyfriend!" May yelled with a bright blush on her face.

Ash ignored the second part of Max's statement and asked, "Is he a great trainer?"

"Definitely, I bet he can beat you Ash. After all you lost at the Silver Conference second round," Max teased again which caused Ash to send him a glare.

Apparently Max had gotten really good at teasing after hanging around Brendan for so long.

"Ash he's actually really good friend of mine and he used to be our neighbor when we lived back in Littleroot Town. May commented. She had made her way to standing next to Ash as they walked. She definitely did not want Max spouting out any more false information even though she wished that information was true.

"I don't know May, ever since we moved here Mom has been parading across the school telling all the other mothers how her little girl had gotten herself a boyfriend and who else could that boyfriend be?" Max asked with a huge smirk.

"Mom- mom is crazy Max! Don't listen to anything she says," she yelled at the boy.

"And-and why would I even love him?" she added on a second later.

* * *

"Achoo!" a brown haired boy with a white knit cape sneezed as he was standing behind the railings of the ferry that was transporting him to his next destination. The large blue pokemon standing next to him looked at the boy with a curious eye.

"Eh it's alright Skipper, I just think someone is spouting false information about me. Now let's make our way to Mossdeep," he said.

* * *

AN: so this chapter was pretty rushed but I think it's alright because you can just go the anime and watch the first couple episodes of the Hoenn season to get a feel for it. Can't believe it's already the end of this story. Feels like it was just yesterday that I was sitting down to write the first chapter and it's finally over.

If you liked this story and enjoyed my signature "sunshine and rainbows," then maybe you'll enjoy some of the stories I'm thinking of writing in the hopeful near future. As always a big thanks for all the support!


	26. Extra Chapter

Surprise surprise, I bet ya'll weren't expecting this. Anyway this is a chapter that i wrote a while back for a friend since she enjoyed the story and wanted to see something a bit more "mature". This chapter is mainly written for the lols and not to be taken completely seriously. I do allude to some possible future stories in this chapter so maybe keep an eye out. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Oh and before I forget, this takes place roughly 1-2 years after the end of chapter 25.

* * *

Extra Chapter: The Good Old Switcheroo

May was slowly opening her eyes to reveal the scene of the brightly colored sunset sky along with the calming sound of sea waves. She let out a long breath before remembering what had happened just before her nap. She remembered how Brendan had given her his card for access to the ship's private area, so she wouldn't have to be surrounded by hundreds of other people bathing in the same pool, but instead enjoy a somewhat more relaxing atmosphere with fewer people.

Brendan had told her he had some business to take care of, so he would meet up with her later.

May was quite surprised when she had entered the private area. Unlike the public area, this area was one where only passengers that paid a ridiculous amount of money could access. In Brendan's case however, he was given access of the area as an apology for not being able to book a larger more luxurious room as he had to book last minute, and all the great rooms were gone. That and the fact that he was quite influential in Hoenn helped to give him access.

It had already been about two weeks since Brendan had invited May to visit Sinnoh with him. He told her that he was planning on challenging the Battle Frontier in Sinnoh and when he told May that the event known as the Wallace Cup would be taking place soon, May was more than happy to go along with him.

She was shocked when he saw him after so many months of not seeing each other. Sure, she had seen him before on television and magazines, but seeing him in person was completely different.

For one, she noticed that he had matured rather well. He was no longer that little neighbor of her's that she grew up with when they were kids. She also noticed how he basically towered over her. At one point in their childhood, May had been the one that was leading in height, but at some point, Brendan began to pull ahead of her. At first it was just by a few centimeters, but now it was almost by a foot. Her head barely reached over his shoulders now!

She remembered how she had almost lost her breath when she saw his face in person. To say he was good looking would be an understatement. No wonder the recent _Hoenn Monthly_ poll for _"Most Attractive Men in Hoenn"_ ranked him in second. The only other person who was considered better looking was Steven Stone and as much as she hated to say it, the poll was correct. No one could compete with Steven.

The only reason why she knew such information about that position was because her rival Drew had been flaunting the magazine to show that he made it onto the list as well. May had pulled the magazine out of his hands to see for herself and when she flipped the pages to see the higher rankings, she was surprised to see her childhood neighbor there. She had called him up to congratulate him and he had acted pretty embarrassed about it.

She had also noticed through his clothing, as Brendan was wearing nice fitted clothing that day, how he was well toned and fit. Not that she was staring or anything.

Brendan had noticed the many changes May had undergone through her teen years as well. He noticed how she had more feminine like traits like for example her curves. The stick like figure he knew as a kid had been replaced with a petite yet curvy body. He, much to his amusement, also noticed that May hadn't grown that much in height since the last time they had met.

He would sometimes tease her by calling her "shorty" and she would fire back her own comeback claiming he was some sort of giant even though he was just below six feet in height. That one-inch kind of bugged him sometimes.

There was however one area of her body that no matter how hard he tried not to stare, his eyes always wondered to it. He of course was talking about how her breasts had grown and he thought they were the perfect size. Not too small, but also not huge. He also couldn't deny that her face had grown really cute and attractive as well.

There were also many things that didn't change. One of those things was the pair's ravenous eating habits. May remembered how Brendan had taken her to eat the day they had confessed and how they had almost been kicked out because they had eaten all the food in the restaurant, just like the time after their graduation ceremony where they were kicked out for eating all the buffet's food. There was still the fact that May was unable to pull a legitimate win against her boyfriend when it came to eating.

There was also the fact that Brendan still cracked a lot of jokes and teased May like before. May remembered how her eyes had nearly bulged when they had received the bill for their meal.

"Bren-Bren-Brendan we can't pay for this! We don't have that kind of money."

"May calm down. I got this is all covered," he responded in a reassuring voice. May's nerves were slightly calmed before noticing that mischievous smirk appear on the boy's face. That smirk never meant anything good.

"How do you have this covered?" she asked quizzically.

"Well May, when they're not looking we make a run for it," he whispered in a serious tone. He was leaning in front of the table with a hand pressed to the side of face.

"What you can't be serious!" she whispered harshly back. She couldn't fathom the idea of running out, especially after all the food they had eaten. It was against her principles.

She noticed how his expression softened before a smile crossed his face. She knew immediately that he was joking.

"Like I said May I got this covered," he reassured. He quickly pulled out his trainer card out his wallet and set it on top of the receipt where the waiter could pick it up.

"Wait you're paying? How much money do you have?" May asked, shocked that he would be cover all their meal expenses.

"Well May you would be surprised how much being the champion of a region pays. That and all the tv appearances I've made and all the clothing brands that want me to wear their clothes. All of those pay surprisingly well. Who knows, maybe I could rival the Diamond family," he joked.

From what Brendan had told her, the Diamond family was a family that held great wealth and power in the Sinnoh region. He had told her how the family had a very long history that some claimed could be tracked back to the very founding of Sinnoh. He had also told her how one of the members, Lucas Diamond, held the position of Sinnoh's champion for a short while before he resigned to focus on his research and family business. Sometimes he would tell May how they had both met in what May called a 'Nerd Convention' and they had stayed in touch since. He told her how the two had traveled together in Kanto to challenge the Battle Frontier. Sometimes he would talk about how they would sometimes have a full six on six battle when the opportunity brought itself up, and it always ended in a draw. They both seemed to be equal when it came to pokemon battling.

When May asked Brendan if Lucas was like those snobby, arrogant people that are common in television shows, Brendan told her that Lucas was pretty much the opposite.

"Well May, this may come as a shock, but the guy told me how he was fortunate to be born into such wealth, that he always wanted to make a change for those that are less fortunate. He is like a saint."

"Huh, that's actually quite refreshing to hear, I guess I'm so used to the ones you see in television."

"It's not just him May, but it appears his entire family as well. You can look up history books where it says that they helped to build Sinnoh's infrastructure and lead the way for industrialization and are still doing it to this day. Apparently, they've been doing it for the past 200 years."

"You know I've never really been the best when it comes to books, and didn't you say they had a much longer history?"

"Just like old times huh," he teased which caused the girl to stick her tongue out at him. After a moment Brendan said, "well, Lucas did tell me that his family had a much longer history, but he would rather stay silent about events before then."

Not much was said after that. Brendan wanted to know more, but he knew it wasn't the best idea to have the other boy explain more of his family when it wasn't his business. After all it may had been bad, and it would be better to stay hidden.

May also began to recall how there was a certain water type the boy owned that always seemed to dislike her. When the water type first saw her, he didn't hesitate to immediately send a hydro pump to her face just like old times. She never understood as to why the mudkip line never seemed to like her. She had been hoping that this certain water type would have grown out of that annoying habit once he evolved, but even now as a swampert, the pokemon still seemed to dislike her for some reason.

May wasn't done thinking back when a hand ran through her hair. She had almost completely forgotten of what she was doing before she began her flashback. She realized that she was still laying on her boyfriend's chest as they were sleeping together on a deck chair.

Many of the patrons had already left, leaving just the two of them alone. The area consisted of a large pool, along with a large jacuzzi. There were also waiters ready to serve the people within the area along with lines of deckchairs for the patrons and umbrellas.

May was still dressed in her swimsuit while Brendan was in his. Well actually he hadn't removed his shirt since he had fallen asleep once he had gotten to the area, much to May's dismay.

Was it bad that she wanted to see her boyfriend shirtless? He had told her how easily he would fall asleep now. He told her how his current position as champion as well as training his pokemon, television show appearances, interviews and father's research would always keep him busy and make him exhausted, so he was glad that he was able to take a much-needed vacation. He was glad that Steven and Wallace were more than happy to cover for his absence in Hoenn.

Well more so Steven.

Now that she thought about, she had kind of seen him shirtless recently. It happened when Brendan was sleeping, and his shirt was slightly lifted which gave the young brunette a small peak at his stomach. It was a small peek, but it was enough to cause a mad blush to appear on her face. She mentally debated about whether she should pull his shirt to get a better view before ultimately deciding that it was not the best idea. After all, what would his reaction be?

Of course, all of this happened before they confessed so it would have been more awkward.

She remembered how she had laid herself to sleep by his side and was taken by surprise when he pulled her closer to him by using his arms. She had her head buried on his chest while his arms were wrapped around her. She was completely shocked at first, but she relaxed as she took in his warmth and smell. He still had that familiar smell of apples and cinnamon, but she had detected a faint trace of cologne. Her own arms had made their way to wrap themselves around him and she fell into a peaceful sleep that night. Falling asleep to the steady sound of his heartbeat.

Brendan had woken up the following morning feeling warm and oddly comfortable. He glanced down to see that May was wrapped around his arms, while her own arms were wrapped around him. A mad blush overtook his face noticing their close proximity. He specially noticed how a certain pair of female organs were pushing up against him and the smell of vanilla coming from the girl.

Seeing her peaceful face was enough to convince him to not disturb her. Actually, he was quite glad he had fallen asleep on the bed last night.

Due to the size of the room, the boy had agreed to sleep on the couch while May took the bed. He was met with some opposition at first, but he was eventually able to convince the girl to take the bed.

Last night however was different. He had returned to his room feeling utterly exhausted after he and his pokemon had hit the gym. He also trained alongside his pokemon to make sure that he was in great physical shape. He wasn't a bodybuilder or anything, but he was quite fit from both his traveling and training.

Last night he arrived at the room covered in sweat and exhausted. After a quick bath with constant arguing with Skipper about him not being able to fit in the tub anymore (Skipper often bathed with Brendan when he was a mudkip, but now that he's a swampert his body is too big to fit in the bathtub along with Brendan comfortably), the boy had decided to have a quick meal before calling it a day. And by quick meal, he meant about six large pizzas.

His eyes were beginning to droop shortly after his meal that he instinctively laid down on the bed. May hadn't returned yet so he was sure it was fine before sleep took its toll on the boy.

He had been sleeping quite a lot lately.

He noticed that May was beginning to wake up and was immediately starting to make explanations for their positions. What happened however was the complete opposite that had expected.

He had expected her to be mad, but instead she told him how much she enjoyed sleeping together with him. It wasn't long before May pushed her face towards Brendan and they both shared their first kiss. They had finally confessed the feelings that they had been feeling for years.

* * *

Later that same day, May called her mom to tell her what had happened.

"So mom," she began. A bright smile was aligned on her face as she was speaking. "Brendan and I are officially a couple now, and we slept together last night."

There was a soft moment of silence between the two before May heard what she thought was two squeals come from the other line. It sounded like there was a pair of high school girls present on the other line.

"Don't you think you're too young… but never mind. So, May how was it? Did you enjoy it? How did it feel? You guys used protection, right?" she was bombarded by her mother.

May suddenly realized that her choice of words earlier were probably not the best. She was quick to defend herself through the mad blush that was growing on her face.

"Mom it wasn't like that! We didn't do that! We just cuddled in the same bed that's all!"

Over at Brendan's side (who had called his father to tell him about it), Professor Birch asked, "you guys used protection right?"

"Dad! It wasn't like that. We just... you know cuddled!"

* * *

Back at the deck chair, Brendan was slowly running his hands to May's hair as he was waking up as well. After a second, he removed his hands and stretched out. He noticed that the sun was beginning to set and that May looked like she had been awake as well.

After a loud yawn he asked, "so May, wanna grab something to eat? My treat."

May was all too happy to take his offer up as she gave him a nod along with a smile. The pair stood up from the deck chair and stretched their limbs out.

May was quick to dress back into clothing that wasn't as revealing as she threw on a pair of jean shorts and a green t-shirt over her swimsuit.

Brendan stretched out for another minute as he put on his sunglasses and baseball cap back on. From what he had told May, he said that it helped disguise him better, although there was still that one rabid fan that was able to recognize him despite his disguises.

The two made their way out of the area and into one of the many restaurants that the ship had. Since they didn't feel like changing out of their clothes they had both agreed to visit one of the less fancier places that didn't require its guests to follow a strict dress code.

They had made their way back to their room after their meal and sat down on the long couch to watch some of the television programs that the ship offered. They had both changed out of their swimming gear and into their usual pajamas.

May sported a simple green tank top along with red pajama pants. Brendan sported his usual sleeping attire of a black t-shirt and black shorts. They huddled closer together watching a movie about star crossed lovers who met while onboard the world's biggest steam liner at the time. Unfortunately, due the ship hitting an iceberg in the northern sea and lack of safety regulations regarding water pokemon, the ship sunk leaving vast amounts of people to die in the frigid waters.

May could hear sniffles as the movie had reached its conclusion. Honestly Brendan could sometimes get so emotional when it came to movies. He was also a huge scaredy cat.

"You alright there Brendan?" she sarcastically asked.

"Sniff… sniff, May it's just so sad. He died at the end and I know both of them could of fit in that door."

"How would you know," she asked. "If you ask me it looks like that door couldn't support their weight."

"I know because I know the leading actor when we met in Sinnoh and he visited Hoenn recently, and even he said that he and the actress both got on the door after shooting and they both perfectly floated. He told me that the script had him die so he couldn't get on the door."

His sniffles had nearly calmed down.

"Wait you didn't tell me he came to Hoenn?" May exclaimed. She jumped and pushed her face in front of Brendan's, so she was staring him down. "Why didn't you introduce me?" she asked demandingly.

"Calm down May jeez," Brendan responded. He placed his hands to the side of his face akin to surrender under the brunette's questioning glance. After a moment he said, "honestly May, I think you go a bit insane when celebrities are mentioned."

"I do not!" she exclaimed. She crossed her arms and turned to face away from him.

Brendan raised an eyebrow, clearly remembering all the posters, albums, t-shirts, light sticks, and other fan stuff she had.

"Fine," he sighed.

"So anything you wanna know about him?" He asked.

May turned to face him, eyes glowing with questions. "How does he look in real life? Does he look like in the movie?"

"Well May just between you and me, he looks way better in person and he's actually really tall and he's just two years older than us."

"Is that all?"

"Actually he has a very nice behind," Brendan joked. He had been doing circular hand motions to illustrate his point.

May didn't know if Brendan was being serious or not, but before she could ask another question, Brendan interrupted her.

"He's actually a great battler as well. We both had a full six on six battle which ended in a draw," he sighed. "Come on May, it's late. We should be getting some shut eye."

"Oh come on, tell me more," she pleaded.

"Some other time May, hey maybe I'll introduce you sometime," he suggested.

"You will? Oh my gosh thanks," May exclaimed. She pushed herself closer to Brendan where the two embraced each other and gradually welcomed the embrace of sleep.

Unfortunately for them, a certain physic type pokemon popped out of the boy's waist once they was fully asleep and she thought he would play a prank on the couple.

* * *

Brendan was slowly opening his eyes the following morning. He glanced at the digital clock situated on the bedside table, taking in the time. It was rather early as the room hadn't been permeated by the sun's rays yet.

He slowly pushed himself off the couch and onto his feet. Suddenly he felt really strange. For some reason he felt a lot shorter and he felt like there was something sitting on his chest. He ignored the sensation for the time being and headed towards the kitchen.

 _That's weird, he thought. Were the drawers always this high up?_ He was still groggy, so his mind wasn't fully aware of what was going on.

He was able to see his reflection as he passed by the microwave and let out a loud shocked shout that immediately filled the room.

He noticed that for some reason the reflection was reflecting the image of May instead of his own. He suddenly began touching his face and slapping himself to see if it all had been just a dream.

"Jeez Brendan why must you always wake up so early," the boy heard his voice say as he saw his body entering the kitchen.

Suddenly both their expressions froze, and the pair pointed fingers at each other.

"What are you doing in my body!?" they both yelled.

"May is that you in my body?"

"Brendan is that you?" she asked as well. After a nod from the opposite body, May continued. "If it really is you then tell me something that we did when we were growing up. Something only Brendan would know."

A smirk crossed the boy in May's body as he began, "May when we were five you-" he never got to finish as a pair of hands clasped over his mouth.

"Yep that's definitely you." May managed through her embarrassment.

"Now to see if you're actually May," Brendan said. "Release Skipper from his pokeball."

"Wait you don't mean?" she asked hesitantly.

"Just do it May."

"Fine," she responded back rather hesitantly. May reached down to her boyfriend's waist where she picked out the pokeball of a certain water she disliked.

The large pokemon quickly materialized in the room and stared at the two before sending a hydro pump which struck May (in Brendan's body) straight in the face as always.

May saw the figure of her own body laughing uncontrollably on the floor and the water type had made its way to stand next to his trainer. Or rather stand next to the mind of his trainer rather than body.

"It seems Skipper just knows when you're around and that we switched bodies," he barely managed through his laughter and gave the water type a pat on the head.

May was meanwhile fuming with anger that even though she was in her boyfriend's body, the water type knew that it wasn't really him inside but her, and like always, greeted her by spraying her in the face with a water attack.

"So how did this happen?" May asked after she was done drying herself.

"I think I have a pretty good idea on how it happened," he began. He pointed at May and told her to release Freya (Brendan's gardevoir) from her pokeball.

The pokemon quickly materialized in front of the pair and it looked like she was struggling to hold back her laughter. May had no idea what was going on, but Brendan did as he and the pokemon ensued in a vicious stare down.

May could only watch from the sidelines as the two seemed to be communicating telepathically.

"Huh? What do you mean you used up too much energy and can't change us back?" Brendan asked the pokemon.

After a couple more seconds of staring each other down, Brendan sighed. "May looks like we will be stuck in each other's bodies for the rest of day. Freya here thought it would be a good idea to switch our minds while we slept, and she won't be able to change us back until tonight."

"Why would she think it would be a good idea?" May asked, giving the pokemon a quizzical look.

"She thought it would be a good prank for us," he said drily.

Suddenly a look of horror took the gardevoir's face as Brendan kept staring at her. It seemed that Brendan was perhaps threatening her.

"But how was she able to do that?" May inquired, this entire situation seemed unreal to her.

"Well May… psychic powers are pretty mysterious. You can say they have the ability to manipulate many things around them whether they are physical or not. In this case Freya decided to manipulate our minds for the exchange to happen."

"Huh… but don't you have a metagross as well? Don't you think he could change us back? After all he is a physic type."

"May, as much faith as I have in Titan (short for Titanium), we are still working in mastering his physic abilities, so at the moment he's not at the same level as let's say Freya, so I'm not sure he would be able to have the same level as control as her."

"Oh," May could only say back disappointingly.

"Oh well might as well make the best out of the situation," May heard the boy say. After a moment she noticed how his head or rather her head looked down to see her breasts.

"Brendan you better not," she threatened.

"Why not?" he fired back. "I've always wanted to know how it felt," he said nonchalantly. His hands or rather her hands had made their way onto the chest area where he began groping them. He felt that they were soft and bouncy.

May was shocked that her boyfriend would have been so honest in that matter, but she wasn't about to take this laying down. She was going to do something she wanted to do ever since she saw Brendan again.

May lifted the shirt off her boyfriend so she could glance at Brendan's body. Just like she suspected, he was well built, and his stomach and chest felt really firm as she rubbed her hands against his torso. Much to her surprise, Brendan hardly seemed to be paying attention to her act of perversion as he was stuck in his own act.

"Brendan it doesn't bother you that I'm doing this?" she asked, hoping to get some sort of reaction from him.

"Nah, as long as you keep your hands above the waist I have no problem," he responded back nonchalantly.

Now that he had mentioned it, May felt that there was a strange feeling coming from between the legs. She felt like there was a brand-new organ placed there. She didn't know how to describe it.

"Brendan what is this that I'm feeling between my legs? It wasn't' there before," she asked. She knew what it was, but she just wanted to make sure.

"May, what you're feeling in between the legs are the male reproductive organs, surely you've heard of them before right?"

She had seen the organs back when they had attended school as the books showed a couple pictures of both pairs. She was just shocked that she was maybe the first girl to ever know what it feels like to ever have that set of organs.

"In my case May, I feel like there's a complete lack of something between my legs," he said.

She stuck her tongue out at him while he kept groping the breasts. He stopped after another minute and he suggested that they get changed and have some breakfast. May was more than happy to oblige as she picked up the discarded shirt from earlier off the ground and placed it back on.

"May why don't you get changed first?" Brendan asked. May eyed him for second, wary that maybe he wanted to begin taking more acts of perversion while he was inside her body, but he promised that he wouldn't do any of the sort. They both agreed they wouldn't remove each other's underwear as well.

May had initially grabbed her bag before she was stopped by Brendan who handed her his bag. "I don't think your clothes will fit my body," he teased.

"Shut up," May fired through her embarrassment. She couldn't believe that she had made such a simple mistake.

As May was staring at herself in the restroom she made sure to not remove the boy's boxers as that would be a complete invasion of privacy. Sure, they were a couple now, but that didn't mean that she had the right to see his naked body without his permission. Even though part of her really wanted to. She had to constantly remind herself about the promise they had made a few moments ago.

She began rummaging through his green turtle shell bag shocked that he carried so much clothes with him. He carried the basic trainer goods such as medicines, snacks, and camping equipment, but he also carried a large amount of clothes as well. Anything from a simple swimsuit to full on formal wear. Some of the clothes he carried reminded May of the clothes she had seen male idols wear.

Heck he carried way more clothes than May did, and she remembered that he was a somewhat well-known clothing model back in Hoenn. She remembered how many clothing stores in Hoenn wanted to use his young image to sell their clothes, so they had hired Brendan to model some of their clothes for them and he would receive the clothes he modeled as a thank you as well as large amounts of money. As she kept rummaging through all the clothes, she realized that maybe picking out an outfit would prove to be more challenging that she thought.

She began rummaging through the wide assortment of pants, shorts, shirts, vests, ties, shoes, and heck she even tried on some of the coats, scarves and snow caps he had as well. Brendan had told her that the ship would be docking in Snowpoint City for a week, so he bought clothes for the city.

Even if it was midsummer, Snowpoint City was well known for having snow year-round so May needed to make sure to buy some winter clothes unless she wanted to freeze like a popsicle.

After about maybe three hundred different clothing combinations, she ended up picking out a pair of blue jeans, a long sleeved white shirt, a black zorua t-shirt she placed over the white shirt, and a pair of boots. She felt just… well like a guy. After looking at the mirror a couple more times and striking a couple poses, May decided that the outfit was satisfactory. She soon exited the bathroom, to see the figure of her body laying down the sofa with a bag of clothes laying on the small coffee table.

"Finally," he said. He paused for a moment as he stared at May or rather at himself. "Hey I look good," he gleamed.

May offered him a small smile before Brendan had made his way to bathroom. He stripped down just to the girl's bra and underwear as he didn't want to invade her privacy even though he really wanted to see her naked body.

Since May had taken so long in the bathroom, Brendan had done quite a bit to pass the time. For example, Brendan made his way to a clothing store where he bought what he thought would be something cute for May. It's not to say he didn't want to wear May's usual green and orange traveling outfit, but he wanted to try something different on. He bought something that he was curious about wearing for quite a while and now that he was in a female body, the opportunity was perfect.

After about ten minutes he finished putting the finishing touches on the outfit. He looked at himself in the mirror and thought about how cute May looked. Hopefully she would like this outfit as much as he did.

The bathroom door clicked open which snapped May's attention away from watching the television. Her mouth had nearly dropped as she saw the wardrobe change Brendan had performed.

Her body was wearing a long sleeved white button up shirt placed below a navy-blue sleeveless jumper with white borders. She noticed how the short blue plaid skirt perfectly complimented the jumper as well as the red bowtie that hung at the hem of the shirt. She also noticed that her body was wearing a pair of white knee length socks with black stripes near the top and black dress shoes. If anything, the outfit reminded her of when she had attended school.

"Bren-Brendan where did you get those clothes?"

"You were taking so long in the restroom that I decided to do a little shopping," he smiled. "So, what do you think? Cute right?" He asked, taking multiple poses to model for May.

"Yeah, it's cute," she admitted. "Wait does that mean you didn't want to wear my traveling outfit?" she asked slightly annoyed.

"I had no problem with it. It's just that I've always wanted to wear a school girl uniform and I finally know what it's like." He said with a cheeky grin.

May nodded, recalling the times when she had attended school with Brendan. Their school had a strict dress code that dictated that students had to wear certain school approved attire or be sent home. May eyed by how short the skirt was. If she had worn her skirt that low when going to school, she would have definitely caught the eyes of male students but also be sent home. Since they weren't in school anymore, Brendan had taken the liberty to add more femininity to the outfit and honestly, he was able to pull it off quite well… maybe even better than May.

"By the way, while you were in the restroom, I also took the liberty of feeding all of our pokemon," Brendan said a moment later taking May's mind away from the outfit.

"Did they attack you?" she asked, hoping for a yes. Maybe that would be her payback for all the times Skipper sprayed her in the face and that one time Drake (Brendan's salamence) bit her hand.

"Nah not really," he shrugged.

"Blaziken actually hugged me," he snickered.

"Gee I wonder why he didn't attack you like Skipper does to me," May thought out loud.

"It's because I've raised him since he was an egg." Brendan answered.

After a couple minutes of talking with each other, the pair decided to head out to grab breakfast as both of their stomachs were now growling. Before exiting the room however, Brendan grabbed his baseball cap and sunglasses that he handed them to May so they wouldn't be recognized. She placed the items on and made their way to a restaurant.

May finally knew as to why Brendan always defeated her when it came to eating challenges. The boy was simply much bigger than her and therefore his body took more food than hers. She was utterly surprised when she had eaten more than twice of what she would have normally eaten when she was in her own body.

 _Seriously is this boy like a bottomless vacuum cleaner?_ She thought as she ate another plate of food.

"Hah looks like I finally win this one Brendan," she said triumphantly.

"Yeah right May, you're inside my body so I should get the win," he argued.

The two continued bickering for the next couple of minutes as to who should get the win. The other patrons of the place looked on as if they thought the pair was insane. Eventually the waiter was able to break their dispute as he handed the pair the bill. May or rather Brendan inside her body, pulled out his wallet and placed his trainer card on the receipt to pay for their meal.

"Brendan shouldn't I be paying? After all I am the guy here?" she teased.

"Yeah yeah. May we both know you don't have that kind of cash on you," he teased back.

"I guess you're right," May sighed.

After leaving the restaurant the pair had decided to try the many forms of leisure and entertainment the ship offered. Their first stop was to see the performance of a pair of an Idols known as Yancy and Curtis. They were both performing at the theatre with raving fans already there when the brunette pair arrived.

Their second stop involved seeing some of the performances that some of the coordinators on board would put on for everyone to see. May wanted to join in, but she was unsure as she wasn't in her body at the moment. Brendan gave her his approval and gave her permission to use his pokemon.

May had released Freya and Mimi (Brendan's milotic) and the three created a brilliant display of water and physic power that left the audience in awe.

Freya and Mimi were Brendan's best contest pokemon. He didn't enter contests that much, but when he did he always used either one of them to dazzle the audience. All his other pokemon weren't exactly into contests, but they had also entered a couple as well. Brendan never got enough ribbons to participate in a Grand Festival like May had since he mainly entered contest when he was in town and they just happened to be going on. At the moment he only had three ribbons compared to the third-teen May had.

After a rather long lunch and another debate on who should get the win for eating the most food, the pair headed to their third stop.

Their third stop involved visiting the ship's arcade that hosted a wide variety of games for the passengers to play.

Like always, May proved that she was utterly terrible at video games while Brendan pulled a win against her on every game they played. May was utterly confused as to why she was so horrible at these games. Some of them weren't even that hard, yet she always lost. She had even lost at the dance games since she couldn't get her coordination right while in Brendan's body. Brendan on the other hand looked like he was a pro as he danced like he had fully adjusted to being in the girl's body. If anything, it looked like he enjoyed being her body maybe a bit too much. He had even kicked the shoes off so he could dance more comfortably.

"Cheater," she muttered when Brendan pulled another win against her _. And how is he even nailing all those girl group dances? I didn't know my hips could even move like that._

The words to the song he was currently dancing to rang in her ears. She couldn't understand much of it, say for the small parts she time he was dancing a pretty simple dance as opposed to earlier.

' _I'm like TT, Just like TT_

 _Tell me that you'll be my baby'_

 _Maybe I should dance to those boy groups next. I saw Cal dancing to them all the time,_ Brendan thought as he continued dancing away earning him an audience of male fans that cheered him on.

As the sun was beginning to set the pair decided to see the sunset together. The two sat close together on a bench admiring the vastness of the sea and the setting sun.

"Brendan?" May asked. Brendan turned his head away from the ocean to face May or rather face his face.

"Yeah?" he asked after a moment.

"What if we never change back to our bodies?" May asked uneasily.

"Umm… I honestly don't know May, maybe we would just have to learn to live as our new selves."

"But aren't you afraid that we may not be able to change."

"A little bit, but I have faith in Freya. Even though she can be mischievous and cheeky sometimes, she never goes back on her promises, so I'm sure she will be able to change us back."

May managed a nod as she went back to look at the sea. "I actually wouldn't mind staying in your body," she admitted.

"Neither would I," Brendan responded.

They smiled at each other for another moment and began to slowly reach for a kiss. The kiss was interrupted when a certain physic type popped out of her pokeball to greet them.

"Oh, so you're finally ready Freya?" Brendan asked.

The gardevoir nodded and began making a sphere of physic energy around her hands. Brendan and May's minds went numb for a minute and their eyes closed. When their eyes opened, they saw that the procedure had been successful in returning their bodies. They each gave each other a smile before grabbing each other in a tight hug.

"Thanks Freya," they both said in unison. The gardevoir curtsied before Brendan spoke again.

"But next time you pull something like that again, you're gonna get it," Brendan threatened.

The pokemon managed a nod before returning to her pokeball.

He turned to look at May before speaking,"May," Brendan began. "There's actually something that I would like to give you."

"What is it?" she asked. Bright mirth was dancing in her eyes excited as to what Brendan would give her.

"Look inside the jumper," Brendan told her.

May looked inside to reveal the shape of a small red box that she was surprised she hadn't noticed until now.

"Open it May," Brendan urged her.

She lifted the lid off the box to reveal the shape of a silver bracelet similar to the one that May had seen Brendan wearing on occasion. In the center of the bracelet laid a small rainbow-colored stone with the shape of what looked like a DNA in the center. Next to the smaller stone laid a large cream-colored stone with a similar DNA shape to the other stone, but instead had a red and black pattern.

"That May is a key stone and a Blazikenite. They help a pokemon to achieve mega evolution. Steven gave me a couple of key stones along with a couple of mega stones as well. I decided to give you these since I already have my own stones and since I don't have a Blaziken, I would also like you to have the Blazikenite since I gave the other stones to Skipper and Zen (Brendan's sceptile)."

May was utterly taken aback at his words. She had heard about mega evolution before and how it was extremely rare and only a small number of trainers could do it and now she was getting the opportunity to try it as well. She was at a complete loss for words.

She set the box down and quickly grabbed her boyfriend into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Brendan, thank you very much. I can't even begin to say what this means to me."

"Hey, it was no problem," he said. A smile had taken hold of his face and they both began to slowly lean in for a kiss.

Their lips met to the brilliant light of the sunset that day.

* * *

AN: so I hope you enjoyed that little more "mature" chapter. I was debating about posting it much earlier as a oneshot, but it would have not made much sense give that the previous story was still in writing and that maybe I would be spoiling, so I just decided to wait until the end to add it. Oh and if you got confused, Brendan and May changed bodies halfway through and they change back at the end.

May's team is like the anime and I mentioned a couple of Brendan's pokemon here. Hope you enjoyed and hope to see you again in the future.


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